


Fate's Door

by loonierlovegood



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, Alternate Universe - Historical, Gen, Gender Dysphoria, Genderbend, Historical AU, Homophobia, Human AU, Logan Sanders - Freeform, M/M, Multi, Nonbinary Character, Patton Sanders - Freeform, Roman Sanders - Freeform, Transphobia, Virgil Sanders - Freeform, genderbent to hell, logicality - Freeform, no one is straight, somewhat flirty prinxiety, teen!sides
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-04
Updated: 2018-08-05
Packaged: 2019-06-18 10:48:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 33,496
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15484095
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/loonierlovegood/pseuds/loonierlovegood
Summary: Sometimes a prince has got to slay...the demons of their own life and the past. Roman Theularus takes on an ambitious task when they meet Virgil, but they rise to the challenge. Logan and Patton join them, offering their unique skills and perspectives to help on the quest. Roman finds that life is better with friends by your side and the power to change the world for good. Taking the journey of a lifetime with Virgil, Patton, and Logan defies every standard of normalcy they’ve ever had





	1. Prologue

The blond woman kneels before the king. Purple jets of energy pulse off her in waves, stopped only by the pure white handcuffs. Her hood falls, masking her face from the king. 

“You intend to put me in prison, then?” Her tone is low and even, casual for a sentence that could be of death. The magic flows off her more frantically, as if to juxtapose her voice. 

“Yes. I have already sent out soldiers with orders to destroy anything tainted by your magic in all of Straith.” A member of the king’s cabinet hurriedly writes down every word said. 

“Well then they will have to kill you themselves,” she murmurs, just loud enough that the chamber’s acoustic walls let everyone know of her dangerous statement. 

Fear flickers in the king’s eyes, but is replaced by a shroud of power. He laughs. “How? You are in chains before me, about to be put into my prison.”

“You cannot stop the magic of a final incantation. After this one, there will be no more. Your chains cannot bind that.” She tilts her face up to look at him, brown eyes challenging. The king, in all his fancy clothes and jewels, looks like the fool in the room instead of the court jester waiting outside of the doors. 

Before the king says a word, she turns her head towards the sky. Her eyes begin glowing a faint purple, drawing everyone to look at her, and she begins the incantation: 

“I will rot in your cell for years,  
Letting my powers grow.  
The time that passes will complete a century;  
After, you will get what you truly deserve.   
The young die first, leaving all aghast,   
Before a plague white as snow comes to pass.   
Leaving no one behind,   
All will die.” 

She pauses briefly, her eyes glowing more fiercely, and catches her breath. She looks the king dead in the eyes. 

“ Your saviors number four:

“One of yours,”

The Dragon-Witch holds up a finger. The king’s eyebrows shoot up, just barely.

“One of loss.”

Two fingers. The room goes cold. 

“One of knowledge,”

Three fingers. The cabinet member’s quill begins writing on its own. 

“One of fear.”

Four fingers. Her cloak turns purple with the magical energy for a brief second, then continues flowing around the sorcerer. 

“Hold hope near.”

The energy coursing around her shapes itself into a globe. The sorcerer’s fingers go down, and the globe bursts outwards, causing a shockwave that nearly knocks the king off his throne. 

The befuddled monarch looks to his cabinet, standing to his right. “She didn’t actually do anything, right?” They all appear to consider it for a moment, then the one wearing robes shakes his head. 

The guards drag her away to the dungeons. One of the men in the king’s cabinet looks at a piece of paper in his hand, upon which a transcript of the conversation was written. A tear runs down his face. 

The Dragon-Witch is shut in a cell where she will remain, suspended in a nearly-immortal state, for so long that no one will know her face. She slumps against the cell wall, hoping that her prophecy will come to light.


	2. Legacy Left Behind

Generations passed outside the castle, unbeknownst to the top-security prisoner. After a few decades, no one even remembered the identity of the young woman sitting in the corner of a bright white cell. No one noticed how she never aged, the youth still on her face as time passed around her. 

A few miles from the castle, her story was told in hushed voices among dinner party guests, the electricity of secrecy conducted from one person to the next. Children learned the story from their parents, then became the parents to tell it to their children. Books and handwritten journals gathered in an old bookshelf, to be taken out only when there were no lights in the city except for those in the often unnoticed house. Friends heard the secret too, in whispers behind hands and concealed notes. The message was slightly different every time, but enough records were kept to ensure the core of it was still the same. 

“Ma was a sorcerer. Don’t tell.”

“We were almost searched for magic, I stayed up all night in a panic.”

“I can’t believe my parents kept it from me, and they told my brother when he was ten! Talk about double standards. Maybe I’ll break grandma out of prison, get some sweet revenge.”

“I heard a rumor that books about it still exist.”

“Yeah, the Esmets are a little weird. They’ve got some sort of secrets in that household, the wife won’t tell.”

“It’s time we told you this family holds a great secret.”

“There are no records of the trial for this prisoner, but according to a source of mine there’s a family that knows about it.”

“Too many drinks and he told. The affair, the child, the whole lot of it. Frankly, I’d turn myself in if that happened to me. I couldn’t live with the shame.”

Until the night that would be etched in Virgil’s mind forever, when her parents had chastised her for ruining a new pair of boots. 

“We can’t be evicted,” her mother explained, wringing her hands. “They’ll toss out all our property, and-”she looked at Virgil’s dad-“Should we tell her?”

He’d nodded, face grim. Ten-year-old Virgil had thought he looked like a sculpture then, features set for centuries. “Yes. She deserves to know why we need her to help support this household.” Missy was four years old at the time, and Virgil had just started to like having a little sister. Jest was six, and already a huge nuisance. His bad behavior in school, getting into fights, and always breaking something were already giving the family an unwanted reputation. 

They’d broken the truth to her, and that was when her life changed. The happy child disappeared, replaced by a teenager who calculated bills in her head during class instead of listening to lectures. That earned her bullies, but Virgil didn’t know how to do anything other than ignore them. She obsessed over appearances, and set out to get a job at the factory the minute school ended on her fourteenth birthday. It wasn’t like her parents were considering paying for “public” education after that. Every time Virgil made a mistake, her parents came down hard, and she could feel the weight of the curse on her shoulders. She didn’t make friends, started wearing a cloak to hide from the world, and kept to her lone wolf lifestyle for six years.


	3. Death Should Be Avoided Even At The Cost Of Social Interaction

A hand slapped down on the ringing alarm clock. It was way too loud, but Virgil hadn’t figured out how to fix it, so for now her best plan was turning it off before it woke anyone else in the family up. Which she certainly couldn’t do: Missy needed a peaceful rest, as did her parents, who needed sleep in order to do their jobs well so that they could put food on the table. 

She got out of bed and dressed, taking care to not step too loudly. Why a job at the bookstore required being there at six am was beyond her, but money was money, and this job paid more than most. Who knew that shelving books actually paid? After fastening her favorite and only black cloak, she grabbed a piece of parchment off the kitchen table, which was next to a pile of mail. There was a letter from Jest there, but her parents always wanted to look at it first, so she let it be. She went into the living room and took a book out from a sagging bookshelf. Heading out the door. Virgil tucked the book into her waistband, taking the much unwanted risk that it would fall out during the day. 

Breakfast was an egg and cheese sandwich from a familiar street vendor., Virgil didn’t trust anyone who hadn’t been selling for at least a year, and the stand was cheap. She worked her way through the sleepy early-morning crowd to a handsome storefront with a rare neon sign proclaiming “Food for the Mind.”

Two taps on the door and a brown-haired young guy opened it, exceptionally bright-eyed for this early in the morning. Someone had their coffee. 

“You’re the new employee?” he asked. Virgil nodded. 

“I’m Logan, nice to meet you.” He smiled, then motioned Virgil to come into the store. 

“It’s not a big store or anything, but there is a lot to do around here. Today, there’s a huge new shipment, not to mention I have to teach you how…” Virgil stopped completely listening, instead taking in the rows upon rows of books. Small chairs were scattered across the store in combination with colorful beanbags. She could get used to this, it could maybe be kind of nice. However, first appearances were almost always deceiving in her experience.

Of course, she’d have to grow some social skills first to talk with customers and that’d be pretty difficult. Her thoughts were cut off by Logan handing her a marker and a stick-on nametag. 

“Once you’ve worked here for a while, I can order you a real nametag like mine, but that’ll work for now. Now, we’ve got to restock the shelves and replace all the books people got yesterday. I did inventory already, and the books we need are stacked up right over here.” Logan and Virgil carried in the boxes and shelved them, a process Virgil found exhausting. Apparently manual labor was required to work at a bookstore. Finally, the last book was on the shelf, Virgil’s head was reeling with the Dewey Decimal System, and the store hadn’t even opened yet. 

Logan went and sat behind the counter and told Virgil to wander around and help anyone who looked like they need helping. He gave her a script to work off of, which made her two customer interactions slightly more bearable. She would’ve just hidden somewhere in the store and used her cloak to blend in, but the walls were gray and the bookshelves off-white. Unusually, it made her stand out. Her cloak wasn’t keeping her invisible anymore, but it didn’t feel completely terrible. 

Lunch came and went, with Virgil returning home to make a sandwich and say hi to Missy, who asked Virgil if she got to read books all day. Virgil laughed. To be ten years old again. The afternoon was filled with more customer service, and lucky Virgil got to shelve books again with Logan. 

At least this time he made an effort to include her in the conversation. Logan asked her the basics: why she asked for the job, her age, and whether or not she was looking into an apprenticeship. He was a fairly pleasant person, and guarded in much the same way she was, which intrigued and relieved Virgil. She didn’t need someone prying into her private life.

Rather surprisingly, he, in a roundabout sort of way, asked her to be friends with him. She accepted, figuring that they probably had a few common interests, and he was more low-maintenance than most. Maybe they’d stay friends for years, she thought. 

Years? She didn’t have years. There was a doomsday prophecy hanging over the kingdom’s collective head right now, so her and Logan could never really be friends for long. On the topic of the doomsday prophecy, it was probably a good idea to give him the book with the prophecy in it now. The shop was closing up, and he was mentioning something about wanted to read a book, so maybe he’d think to read the piece of parchment tucked in hers. 

He was saying something about seeing her tomorrow, which meant that she really had to do this now. Virgil mumbled something about a used book drive that she’d made up more or less off the top of her head, shoved the book into Logan’s hands, and walked out of the store as fast as her legs could move her. Maybe he’d be able to do something about it, as surrounded by knowledge as Logan was. 

In a state of shock about what she’d just done, Virgil barely looked at the scenery on her way home. As she opened the front door, Virgil hoped that her parents would be happy about her new job. They complained about money being tight almost constantly, so maybe this could help. Of course, all of Straith could fall before her first paycheck came in. 

One thought consistently nagged at her. Would Logan even believe that the letter was credible? And could he do anything about it? She didn’t know much about his personal life, but she doubted he knew anything about sorcery to the extent that she did. Even if there were books about it, without guidance he would inevitably make some rookie mistakes. Maybe she was the person for the job after all.


	4. No Important Events Whatsoever

Life at the bookstore was consistently and reliably pleasant. The only exception was that some days were more difficult than others. Today, Logan had to bring in a large new shipment of books, mentor the new employee, write a letter to his parents, and find some time to read. Yet despite it being his lunch break, none of it had been fully accomplished already. It was a lot for a sixteen-year-old, and while he did have Dominic, who was supposedly running the show, his mentor was busy with the technical half of Food for the Mind: taxes and budgets. Logan was busy with telling people to take their feet off of the chairs and patiently explaining the Dewey Decimal system to the new employee. She’d just arrived today, and he’d learned her name was Virgil because she’d written it on her nametag. Virgil was not very talkative, but Logan could live with it. Her empty silence was preferable over the condescending remarks he usually got from adult employees, although most of them couldn’t keep their job for more than a few months. With the other opportunities for employment in this city, he was amazed that none of them tried harder to keep the job here. 

Stacking books became particularly dull at points, so Logan decided to try his hand at conversation with Virgil. He had to at least make an effort, there was a good chance they would be working together for a long time. Virgil fit in with the bookshelves and organization as well as he did. 

“So, what drove you to work at the bookstore?” he asked, taking a stack of books off the cart and looking for their spots on the shelf.

“Uh, I got kicked out of my last job for being late, and the bookstore was the only open shop I passed on my way home so I asked if you were hiring and you were,” Virgil sort of explained, busy shelving their newest arrivals onto the eye-level shelf and thinking about something else. 

“Do you want to get an apprenticeship eventually?” Logan was trying to keep the conversation going, but Virgil wasn’t contributing much.

“If I could, I don’t have that many skills to start with. Plus, most shops have apprentices already, and not many would want to take in a sixteen-year-old.” She was slightly on edge today, and not really in the mood for discussing jobs. 

Logan kneeled down to put books on the lower shelves. “You’re only sixteen? I thought you were at least eighteen. A lot of new people are moving into Archdale, I’m sure shop owners wouldn’t turn down extra help. Since you’re older and more mature, you would be a good candidate”

“It’s the hair, everyone thinks I’m in my twenties,” she paused, “I just don’t think I’m qualified, I guess.” Her long blond hair fell over her ever-present black cloak. Logan noticed some of the roots showing through, and wondered if maybe she dyed it to look older. They continued working. 

“Did you like any specific field when you were in school?” Logan adjusted his glasses and made sure everything was being put in the right spot. The last thing he needed was to have a customer ask for a book and then not be able to find it for them. 

“Nah, I didn’t really get along with people there.” Virgil’s shoulders rose defensively. School was obviously a sore topic for her. 

“You got in fights?” Logan’s eyebrows shot into the air. He hadn’t taken Virgil as the type for fighting, but one could never tell. Her dark and mysterious look could be hiding something...

“No! No, I just...didn’t really get along with people. Or people didn’t get along with me. I didn’t make many friends.” She tore open another box of books and began stacking them quickly, as if to avoid making conversation with Logan. 

“Oh. Neither did I, uh, make friends. No one really liked the quiet bookworm, and so I spent more time reading fantasy novels than talking to people,” Logan pulled up a stepladder to reach the very highest shelf, “Maybe we could be the friends we never had in school.”

“Two years after school? I don’t think that makes us school friends, but friends...could work?” It’s not like we’ll be friends for very long, she thought. Virgil took a quick glance at her watch. Five minutes. “Let’s start putting away the boxes.” She tensed up in expectation of Logan’s answer. Did they put the books away now or not?

“Sure.” He picked up two boxes and took them into the back room, Virgil following suit. “Now the fun begins,” he murmured. Finally, it was his time to read and write the letter to his parents. They were arriving back in two weeks, and he’d promised to write once a week.

“What?” Virgil asked.

“Uh, I’m just excited to read this new book that came in now that I’m done with work.” Logan was well aware that he was being the actual personification of awkwardness, what with mumbling and then offering up a half-truth explanation, but there was really nothing he could do about it. The damage was done. 

“Speaking of books, I have an old one that you guys could use for your used book sale. It might have some stuff stuck in the spine, but…” Virgil pushed an old leather-backed book towards him with shaking hands, then speed-walked out of the store. Her cloak flowed out behind her as she left, but Logan barely noticed, busy examining the book. 

He turned the small book over in his hands. Its title was in another language, and sure enough, there was a piece of parchment peeking out of it. He thought about translating it as he pulled out the bookmark.


	5. A Day In The Life Of Patton

If it weren’t for the kids, Patton would have left Archdale as soon as he’d turned fourteen and finished his schooling. Some days, he would even entertain the thought of jumping out the window and traveling to the sea, or the mountains. Yet he couldn’t bear to leave the younger orphans. The caretakers were apathetic at worst and brutally violent at best, and Patton at least knew how to bandage cuts and give kind words. He could keep the brutality of the institution from leaving too deep of an imprint. 

Of course, they treated him much worse than the younger ones he cared for. Officially, Patton was listed as “Apprentice Caretaker,” but in reality his job was doing everything the older caretakers didn’t wish to do. Playing with the children, teaching them actual life skills, making sure everyone got enough to eat, kissing them goodnight, and any chores they found unpleasant. This treatment wasn’t the worst of it, however. The worst woke him up every morning and said farewell at night. 

“Pamela! Pamela, it’s time to wake up dear.” The elderly woman lightly rapped on Patton’s door. “Come on, you’ve got to help prepare breakfast.”

Patton’s self-cut hair was still in a bird’s nest when he threw on his clothes and opened the door. “For the last time, it’s Patton. Times change.” They had this exchange every morning, yet they both refused to budge on their positions. Ever since Patton had found out that being a guy born in a girl’s body was a real thing, he’d insisted that everyone use his preferred name and pronouns. There were many sacrifices he made, but being himself wasn’t one of them. 

Unfortunately, not everyone was a fan of self-expression. The caretaker kept talking.“Don’t be silly, dear. Your parents named you Pamela, don’t change it. You don’t want to toss aside the last thing your parents gave you?” Patton had long since figured out that the old woman who supposedly headed the institute was blind to more things than cataracts blocked from her view. “Besides, I don’t know why you insist on being called ‘he’ all the time. You’ve got such a motherly instinct!”

“It’s because I identify as male. And I care about other people because I’m empathetic, not because of instinct.” Heck, he’d even chosen the name “Patton” because it was related to the word “paternal.” Since basically forever, he’d wanted to be a dad in some way. Patton started making oatmeal, tossing in brown sugar while the woman aimlessly stood next to him.

“You really should grow your hair out. That’s such an unladylike style. What a shame, you’re so pretty.” Patton pretended that he was alone in the kitchen, and that he was about to go feed well-cared-for children their morning feast. He didn’t dignify her statement with a reply. 

Patton carried the pot out to the children, who looked sullen and tired. He spooned oatmeal into everyone’s bowl, asking little questions about their morning and the weather to every kid. Their fatigued faces brightened slightly when he talked to them, and even more so when they dug into their breakfasts. 

“So, what are we doing today?” Patton asked. Usually the caretakers told the children the day’s events first thing in the morning, and he didn’t want to get left in the dark. 

A little girl opened her mouth to tell him, but the severe caretaker at the end of the table cut her off. Patton knew this woman, she’d started working here a few years ago, and was not a fan of children in the slightest. 

“The children will be attending lessons, and in between lessons they will be learning how to clean up after themselves, something that has been quite the issue lately,” she said. 

Oh dear. Children with cleaning supplies. That wouldn’t end well, and Patton figured he would end up cleaning up the worst of it. At least he got a break to walk around town this afternoon, something to look forward to. “How is everyone doing with classes?” he asked, trying to diffuse the cold attitude the caretaker had brought to the room. Patton wasn’t allowed in the room when they did lessons, so he always liked to know how those things were going. 

“I don’t understand science,” Angel, one of the younger ones, said. 

Morgan adjusted her wireframe glasses. “I’m doing well with economics for now, but it’s always off and on.”

“I’m sure you guys can figure it out. Angel, you’re brilliant, you’ll soar above those challenges with your wings.”

“Thanks, Dad,” Angel replied, smiling slightly. The rest of the table groaned. They were all too accustomed to Patton’s relentless puns. 

“And Morgan, they’re just numbers. They can’t have too many problems, they don’t even have brains. You’ll get it” Patton was trying to carefully diffuse most of the tension from the room, and for now he was succeeding. 

Morgan rolled her eyes and resumed eating her oatmeal. Nona piped up. “I’m doing well in pretty much everything, but I wish we could do more field trips.”

This prompted a discussion about their last trip to the North River, remembering studying small organisms under the microscope and goofing off in the shallow areas. Patton enjoyed the conversation, but remembering refusing to go into the water because he didn’t want to show his body brought his cheery manner down a notch. 

His mood plummeted further when one of the maids motioned for him to leave the dining room. Apparently, he had to wash the windows and guide some prospective parents this morning. Washing the windows was hard physical labor, but it was at least a distraction from thinking about the kids doing their lessons and not getting the guidance they needed. He focused on getting bird poop off of the windows to their bedrooms instead. 

The windows were nearly done when someone called for him to come in. Patton dropped down from his stepladder and carried his window-washing supplies with him to the entrance. He pushed them into a closet, smoothed out his shirt, and cleaned the grime off of his pants. “I’m ready. When are they coming?”

The eldest of the caretakers tsked at him. “No, dear, you’re not even dressed properly. Here, you’d best wear this, and put your hair under this cap. I don’t know how you can stand having it so short!” She handed him a bundle of clothes. 

Patton lifted up the top piece of clothing. “A dress? Can’t I just wear a nice pair of pants or something?”

“Absolutely not. You’re a young lady, act like it!”

He got dressed, and obediently tucked his hair into the cap. Knowing full well that he’d likely get asked to take them off, Patton put on his glasses. They always made him feel more masculine, no matter what got him down. He didn’t absolutely need to wear them, but they did make things a little clearer. 

Thankfully, no one mentioned his glasses. He led the prospective parents around and patiently listened to their questions while the caretakers ran off to do who knows what. He lied through his teeth about the treatment of the children there, knowing that people only adopted poorly-treated orphans out of pity. The children deserved better than pity parents. They asked all the right questions, and even thanked him for the tour. Patton was almost sad to see them go. He’d recommended that they adopt Angel, because the little bean deserved parents as good as they would be, and their positive dispositions would only help the little dude. 

Materializing out of nowhere, the caretakers returned. “What great friends they are. They must have such a great connection in order to raise children together,” one mentioned. 

Patton distinctly recalled that the two women had been holding hands the entire time. “I think they were more than friends. They held hands the whole time,” he mentioned, knowing full well that the caretakers wouldn’t get it. 

In the interest of his sanity, Patton tuned out their replies until they told him what he would be doing that afternoon. It was more chores, he had to mow the lawn and clean the kitchen. Patton dressed in what he’d been wearing this morning, then got to work, daydreaming about what he’d do with his free period. He had decided on going to the bookstore and taking a walk in the park once he was done with the kitchen, and now he was onto the lawn. The lawnmower cut neat lines in the grass, and Patton thought about his future. 

In all honesty, Patton had no clue what he’d do with himself once he was eighteen and couldn’t stay with the institute and care for the kids anymore. There were certain things he refused to do, like work in a factory running machines. He had vague ideas: helping the kingdom (in general), being happy, making friends his own age, and distancing him from this institute as soon as possible. Nothing solid, despite the harebrained schemes he’d dreamed up when particularly bored that ended with him the hero of the city and with every caretaker mysteriously dead or missing. Also the perfect body, and a hot boyfriend. 

Well, he was done with the lawn, and it was four o’clock, so Patton left the lawnmower where it was and set out into the heart of town. He bought a cookie from a small bakery, then walked around the park and pet every dog he met. It’s the little things in life. The bookstore was his next destination, Patton planned on buying a book or two for himself and some picture/elementary level books with his meager allowance. Morgan had been begging for some famous author’s new release, so he had to get that. 

Logan, the apprentice at the bookstore, greeted Patton on his way in. Logan and Patton were no more than acquaintances(although Patton would totally date him), but Patton could tell something was definitely off about him. Usually, the Logan was a bit friendlier and less...awkward. With hopes that Logan would just come out and tell Patton what was bothering him, Patton puttered around the store, picking up all the books he wanted. It was strangely empty, but after a day’s worth of chores, Patton didn’t really care. 

At the checkout, Patton decided to make a little small talk. Perhaps it would brighten up Logan’s day. 

“Not much of a crowd here. Did the comedy books put people in stitches?” he teased, carefully gauging Logan’s reaction. 

“No, it’s not that. Technically, we’re supposed to be closed, but you usually drop in some time from four to six, so I opened it as soon as I saw you coming in. I have something I think you might be interested, no, concerned about, no, find sad-I have something you might like to see.”

“What?” Patton asked. What was Logan going on about?

“Uh, I think you’d best read it for yourself.” Logan slid a piece of parchment over to Patton across the counter.


	6. Allies Do Not Necessarily Need To Be Friends

Logan looked at the parchment in his hand. Black pen in messy handwriting marked out eight lines of what appeared to be a doomsday prophecy. He read it over, then looked at the notes at the bottom. 

It’s really hard to explain this without making you think I’m crazy, but this incantation was made by an extremely powerful sorcerer known only as the Dragon Witch. My great-great-grandfather was a witness to this, which is thought to be the Dragon Witch’s final incantation. Apparently those hold a lot more power than your average incantation. She was imprisoned on the summer solstice, a hundred years ago, the one day a year when her powers were the weakest.   
Whoever you are, I hope that you have the resources to stop this curse from happening. As far as I know, the only way to stop the final incantation would by to free the Dragon Witch from the cell, since the third line states her being in the cell a hundred years as a condition of the spell. She was imprisoned in Archdale, probably in the castle.   
I can’t possibly begin to stop this curse, so I won’t be of much help to you. If worst comes to worst, I’ll try to step in, but I’m without a doubt the worst person for this job. 

There was no signature, but the cramped handwriting was the same as Virgil’s. Logan’s head was spinning with the information. He reread the incantation over again, taking in the potency of the curse. Logan wracked his brain for any information about the Dragon Witch, and came up with several books about legendary magical figures and four encyclopedias centered around sorcery he’d never gotten around to reading. His parent’s private collections also probably had something on sorcery, it had been an interest of theirs that they’d never deigned to share with him. 

He may need some help with this. But if Virgil couldn’t help him, and most adults would brush it off as a crazy joke, then who was left? 

Speaking of crazy jokes, Logan didn’t think this was one. Virgil had seemed on-edge during the day, and she’d barely spoken a word. Something about the terrified expression on her face when she’d handed him the book and the way the paper had almost seemed to hum under his fingers when he’d read out the spell made him think twice about this being a hoax. Even if it was a very elaborate hoax, it was better safe than sorry. Logan didn’t want the last thought on his deathbed (the “All will die” was pretty clear) to be that all of these deaths were his fault. 

Logan reviewed his frequent patrons, eliminating all the adults, and landed on a handful of people: Dylan, who was obsessed with horror novels and was a constant annoyance, Patton, the apprentice at the orphanage, who bought either picture books or young adult fiction and was kind of nice, and Coriane, the sucker for biographies who was nice and all but was also leaving town this weekend. All of them were around his age, but he’d never exactly forged any strong friendships with them. Dylan was an absolute no for a thousand reasons, including that he was obsessed with snakes. As a general rule, Logan did not trust anyone who was obsessed with snakes. Coriane had been in Straith on vacation, and was a slow reader along with knowing jack squat about sorcery. Logan needed a research buddy, not a cheerleader. Patton cared a lot about the kids at the orphanage, and he could plow through books in hours while still retaining a lot of information. As a matter of fact, Logan had seen him do just that whenever a book was outside of his price range. 

Patton seemed like Logan’s best bet, and the part about the young dying first would be persuasive in getting him to help. The tricky part was going to be getting ahold of Patton. He usually stopped by sometime from four to six pm, but never every day. Logan carefully watched the pedestrians going by his store, ready to flip the sign to OPEN as soon as he spied Patton’s blue shirt and glasses. 

Six o’clock came and went, so Logan decided to go do his tasks for the day and then go to bed. He slept restlessly, the lines of the ancient spell haunting his dreams. 

The next morning, Logan went through the motions of running the bookstore. He was tense throughout everything, unable to put all of his focus into the books. Virgil made banal small talk, but he was fairly certain that she knew he knew about the doomsday spell. At the end of the day, he waved goodbye to Virgil and stood at the counter, watching for Patton. 

After a half hour or so, Logan spied Patton coming down the street. He ran to change the sign from closed to open, then acted like it had been that way the whole time as Patton breezed in. As soon as Patton gave a small wave and greeting to Logan, he turned the sign back to CLOSED and impatiently waited for Patton to finish getting his books. 

Logan rang up Patton’s books, with Patton making a few terrible jokes. Knowing that this would likely be his only chance to do this, Logan gave a frankly terrible preamble to the whole spell-death-thing and handed Patton the note from Virgil. 

He watched nervously as Patton’s eyes followed every line to its end. Patton looked up from the paper, his expression much more grave and serious than it had been moments before. 

“‘The young die first’...we need to stop this.” Patton’s gaze firmly held Logan’s attention. “Whoever left the note at the bottom recommended that we break the Dragon Witch out of the prison. Do you know how we can do that?” Patton seemed like an entirely different person than he’d been just moments ago, although Logan suspected the two sides of Patton were connected. 

“I’ve got some books on sorcery, and history books that go back four centuries. We can look at the prison records and try to find a solution from there,” Logan offered, taken slightly aback by Patton’s sudden change in demeanor. 

“Sounds like a plan. Hopefully we can scrounge up some castle blueprints in order to break into the prison before the solstice. I can meet you every afternoon this week, from 4:30 to a little before 6. Will that work?” 

“Yeah, and I’ll put together the resources we’ll need. I’ll see you tomorrow, then?” 

“Yep.” Patton was out the door before Logan could even say “goodbye.” What on earth had he gotten himself into?


	7. Life's A B*ach

Roman Theularus was the sort of person who, reasonably, thought they should be happy with their lot in life, but through some cruel twist of fate, was not. Perhaps it was the enormous stresses of being the kingdom’s next king, implemented since birth, or maybe it was the persistent gender dysphoria that begged them to do things that irritated his father and the whole court. Nonetheless, Roman was not happy, they were in fact sad, restless, and moody to boot. 

Today had started no better than any other, with being roused at the crack of dawn by the leader of the military and forced to run three miles in the sweltering heat. Supposedly, this was going to build their stamina and resilience for kingship, but Roman was of the opinion that it was a way to break down their resistance so that they’d have no willpower to disobey anyone. Following was Roman’s daily hiding from the castle hairstylist, who had been ordered to cut their unruly locks no matter what methods she had to use. While Roman was slipping her any gold he could find to keep her from searching much harder for them, it was best to keep up the charade of hiding so that she didn’t lose her job. 

Next up was attending classes with their governor and speeding through the work while acting as if they actually cared about taxes and territories and budgets...they were already spiritually asleep. Lunch soon followed, and Roman thought about the temptation of adventure through twelve debates the King’s Cabinet had, which eventually softened into a drone of figures and facts. They defeated several dragons, and rescued many princes, princesses, and fellow nonbinary royalty after daring deeds and with passionate kisses. Roman got lost in their thoughts, spicing up their stories with plot twists, betrayals, and red herrings. 

“Roman, did you catch that?” his stepmother asked, her painted face tilted towards them in an expression begging the prince to follow court decorum and actually pay attention for once. 

Roman lived to disappoint. “Nope. What’s the big news?”

Every face of their father’s cabinet looked at them gravely, as if they hadn’t fully understood the seriousness of the situation. The king spoke. “I’ve decided to abdicate the throne early, leaving you to rule the country with me in an advising position. We’ll coronate you on the solstice. I think you’re ready for this responsibility.”

No. Nononononono. Roman was not going to rule the kingdom. For one, they didn’t even qualify as a king, and with his knowledge of the current political state, the king was planning to let his past mistakes fall on his child’s shoulders. Roman had watched deal after deal being signed by the king bearing the names of the richest in the land, and despite the community-focused speeches the king gave afterwards, they knew that only bad things would come of them. It was quite the impressive inheritance, but Roman wanted no part in it. They’d declare all of them defunct if there was a way, but there was no way Roman could actually get them put into practice with the current cabinet. Not to mention that there was no way they’d get full kingship. Roman’s father did not like giving away power, and Roman didn’t want to be the figurehead for his tyrannical plans. 

The idea of seeking an adventure sounded less like a fantasy and more like a valid escape plan now. Roman played the part of a diplomat and weathered everyone’s questions, answering affirmative to the kingship because they knew there was no other choice. The conversation swung around to something else, and one of the higher-ranked servants made the mistake of bringing up sorcery. As per usual, everyone pretended the servant hadn’t said anything, but they did not resume their previous topic as usual. Several dukes and duchesses looked at one another worriedly, and two cabinet members even began a heated whispered conversation. Roman scanned the faces at the table, looking for a clue as to what they were all concerned about, but the grim expressions yielded nothing. 

Now was the time for them to leave. Roman made a quick excuse, then dashed up to their quarters. They looked in the bathroom mirror, studying the reflection. Roman knew one thing for certain: there was no way in all of the world that they would become king of Straith under these conditions. Their escape from kingship had to be the adventure they’d always wanted. It was now or never, as much of a cliche that was. 

Their clothes were much too opulent to blend in, so Roman rummaged through their drawers to find the simplest outfit he owned. Awkwardly, as Roman was not used to dressing without servants, they put it on. They sighed at their reflection. The intricate embroidery on the shirt and pants gave it away. Roman probably needed to grab clothes from the servant’s laundry in order to blend into a crowd of common people. Throwing a fairly nondescript cloak over their more simple outfit, they gathered up some money, water, and a compact tent. Who knows where the path of adventure will lead? Stuffing everything into a sack, Roman made their way to the laundry without being spotted. They grabbed one set of the outfit there was the most of, then changed in a broom closet. Roman put the cloak on as well, although they knew that the red trim might give them away. 

Roman made one more foray into their room to gather some medical supplies, and the scarf their mother made for them while she was pregnant. They couldn’t stand to part with it, the bright red yarn always reminded them of the stories told about their brave, adventurous, dead mom. She’d died so that they could live, and Roman kept that sacrifice with them always. They threw a penknife and some layers into the sack, and climbed out their bedroom window and down the castle’s ancient bricks. Roman was going to find their adventure before they were forced into an unwanted crown, and starting as soon as possible was essential. 

Weaving through the crowd of errand boys and half-day commuters, Roman kept an eye out for anyone who looked like they were doing something adventurous. The mysterious characters who kick start a story, or the ordinary events that kick off a journey, those were the ones they watched for. Technically, their life wasn’t a fantasy novel, but that didn’t mean Roman couldn’t live it like one. 

After helping out several overburdened pedestrians, who did not turn out to be the Fairy Godmother, and so would have rewarded them immensely for their kindness, Roman felt their harebrained adolescent plans coming to absolutely nothing. They’d wanted to meet her too, the Fairy Godmother’s fashions were absotively legendary. Roman wandered around a little longer, trying and failing not to feel the pressure of ruling Straith in a few weeks on their shoulders. 

Most people in front of the castle were walking or moving in some form if they weren’t buying something, which made anyone stationary stand out. Roman’s roaming gaze landed on a lone figure in a deep black cloak standing at the side of the road, facing the castle. Their feet moving before they consciously made the decision to, Roman walked towards the person. 

She had dyed blond hair falling past her shoulders, paired with a dark blue shirt, slightly stained black pants, and leather boots that had moved past well-worn into in need of a replacement. Her focus was entirely on the castle, eyes moving and taking in information. Virgil had made up her mind about what she was going to do. 

“What are you looking at? It’s not really the most impressive architecture,” Roman said, trying to pry information out of this stranger. 

“I’m looking for the dungeons,” she said, “and, what, no ‘hello’”

“Hello,” they said, “I apologize for my lack of manners, you were so intriguing I appear to have pushed them aside out of curiosity.” Roman gave a slight bow, trying to remember every way they’d ever learned to convey respect. 

“Well, I’m Virgil, and unless you know where the dungeons where and how to get to them, I suggest you leave me alone.” She swept her cloak so that her face was obscured from Roman again. 

“I do know where the dungeons are,” Roman said, turning themself more towards her, “but I have to know why you need to know. Your average layperson doesn’t typically go seeking out the dungeons. I’m Roman, like the prince.”

Virgil turned to face them full-on. “Can you keep a secret?”

“I’ve kept one from everyone for three years, so yeah.”

“There’s a doomsday prophecy that will kill us all on the solstice and the only way to stop it is releasing a top-security prisoner from the castle dungeons.” She watched them carefully, eyeing Roman’s reaction. 

“Ok. How high security of a prisoner are we talking? I can show you the way to the dungeons right now, unless there’s something you need to do first.” Despite their calm expression, Roman was having a mini freakout party in their head. A doomsday prophecy? A mysterious prisoner? They’d found their adventure. 

Virgil looked shocked, but went with it anyways. “Highest of the high-security, and maybe wait a while before leading me to the dungeons, since I don’t have a plan to break the prisoner out.”

“What do you need to break them out?” Roman asked, rearranging his cloak so that it concealed them from the crowd better. 

“It’s better if I explain this to you somewhere else,” Virgil said, glancing at the people in the crowd behind Roman. 

“I...I know a place.”

“Well, let’s go then. No time like the present.” Roman led Virgil through the most secretive entrance to the castle, using ancient passages they were sure no one else knew of until the two arrived at the door to their room. 

“So, I’ve got a bit of a confession to make,” Roman began. 

“We met five minutes ago. I’d be more surprised if there wasn’t one.”

“So when I said I was ‘Roman, like the prince,’ I neglected to mention that I am actually the prince.” Roman closed their eyes, bracing for some inevitable fangirling or anger from Virgil.

Virgil looked at her surroundings, as if truly taking them in for the first time. She considered the situation, then looked back at Roman again, whose eyes were comically squinted at her. “You’ll make a very useful ally,” she said. 

Roman tentatively opened their eyes to find a determined Virgil looking at them like they were going to be very, very important for the plan she had in mind.


	8. Do Not Become Distracted By The Books

As he’d promised, Patton was at the bookstore the next afternoon, at 4:30 on the dot. Perhaps it was not the escape he’d hoped for, but the knowledge that he had the power to stop the deaths of everyone he knew, and especially the children’s, had kept his spirits slightly more aloft throughout the day. After seeing how taken aback Logan had been by his seriousness, Patton took care to keep his demeanor easy-going when he came to the bookstore.

Logan was behind the desk again, with an impressive pile of books stacked next to him. He was reading a book, but stood up when he saw Patton. “Oh, hi.”

“Hi,” Patton said, “So, where do we start for the prophecy thing?”

In typical Logan fashion, he started rambling about the books he’d found on the topic. “So, most books about sorcery are in some weird sorcerers-only language that we can’t read-unless you’re a sorcerer-but I managed to find some that are in commoner’s language. There’s not a lot of them, which doesn’t matter as far as lightening our workload, because I scrounged up every record I could about criminals and dungeons from 100 years ago, and trust me when I say that there are a lot,” Logan said, barely taking a breath in between words. Patton nodded along to Logan’s informational rant as the two of them moved the tower of books to the round table, set out for customers to read at. 

“I think I’ll start out with the records,” Patton said, reaching for the heap of paper booklets. 

“I’ll help you.” Logan took the largest booklet and began leafing through it. Patton did the same, although he was much more erratic. They sat in the peaceful quiet of a closed bookstore that’s secrets were open to those who desired them. 

Patton made the first breakthrough, locating the exact date of imprisonment. With that information, they stopped reading through the books entirely and skipped to the date of imprisonment. Logan ran to get paperclips, sticking them where they found the date in other books. The records of imprisoned criminals were another case to crack, since most of the top-security prisoners’ identities were kept secret, the most the records yielded was the sentence “Dragon-Witch, incarcerated on evidence of illegal sorcery.” 

Before Logan and Patton knew it, it was 5:45 and Patton had to go back to the institution. They cleaned up everything, and talked about their lives to one another while making sure everything was kept as meticulously ordered as Logan needed. Patton gave Logan a hug to thank the bookworm for letting him help, and left the shop with a wave. 

Logan waited for Patton to be out of sight, then satisfied his burning curiosity by running back to the books and opening them again, in search of the perfect secret. He added the books in foreign languages back to the pile, and several dictionaries to decipher them with. He almost forgot to eat until he leaned to close to one of his books, sniffed the page, and was reminded that food also smelled really good. Wondering what he was doing with his life, Logan ate and went to bed. 

The quest to save Straith continued the next day, preceded by Patton and Logan’s daily lives. Both boys found themselves thinking of the spell during the day, even when they were focused on something else that was entirely unrelated to the curse. Logan’s gut reaction told him that it was magic, but his common sense wholeheartedly disagreed. He had another meh day of working at the bookstore with Virgil, although he found his days were becoming less mundane working with her, now that they had more to talk about. Apparently, she’d done a little digging on the prophecy, but hadn’t yielded much of anything. Patton played with the kids and did his chores, remembering at inopportune moments that the fate of the children in front of him rested on whether or not he and Logan could find the right information in forty or more books and execute a plan based on it. At times he could’ve sworn that there was a literal weight resting on his shoulders, but he chalked it up to an overactive imagination. 

Patton arrived early to the bookstore, and him and Logan settled into the same rhythm they’d had the day before. Logan shared his information on sorcery that he’d gathered the night before, and they worked together to find as many connections between the sorcery books and the records as possible. Still, the records didn’t have much information pertaining to the prophecy, and the most they could find were one-sentence blurbs talking about the Dragon Witch’s crimes, not how she was imprisoned. 

An idea struck Logan, and he disappeared into the back room for a half hour digging up newspapers and magazines from a hundred years ago. He’d never been more thankful that his bookstore had been run by his family for centuries, otherwise all of this information would be completely inaccessible. Him and Patton started looking through the articles, cutting out the ones that were about the Dragon Witch or even just sorcery in general. They accumulated a large file of clippings, many of which were advertisements for what appeared to be a sort of fix-it service the Dragon Witch had run in her prime as a sorcerer. While they found a lot of backstory on the spell’s creator, nothing about her imprisonment had appeared so far. 

Thinking that it couldn’t hurt to try, Patton started leafing through a well-established gossip magazine that was famous for being unreputable, named Dee-Dee’s Hot Take. The modern copy was as abhorrent as the title, but this old one had more exaggeration and less outright blasphemy. Tucked in the very middle of the magazine, in between stories about curing the common cold and a helpful infographic about sewing machines, was a short piece by a journalist who had attempted to witness the imprisonment of the Dragon Witch but had been stopped before he could enter the throne room. 

The journalist wrote, in detailed description, everything he’d observed while following the procession taking the Dragon Witch into the castle. Patton realized how important this article could be a paragraph in, and he nearly knocked his chair over getting up to show it to Logan. They looked it over and started delving into the books on magic to see if the “shackles fashioned out of a white granite-appearing rock,” or the “gaseous strands of deep purple energy,” could be explained by the resources on sorcery. Patton took the books in plain commoners-tongue, while Logan tried his hand at deciphering the sorcerer language, which made a surprising amount of sense to him. According to the cover of the dictionary, only sorcerers and “those attuned to the effects of magic” could even begin to comprehend the language.

All too soon, it was time for Patton to leave. Unlike the previous night, Logan didn’t dive back into the resources. He was too exhausted, and opted to write down a reminder to go to the library for more books tomorrow. Patton went to the orphanage, had dinner, and got to play with the children. Fresh fear coursed through his veins when he realized they were all starting to come down with some sort of cold. The line “The young die first,” echoed in his head. Logan had dinner with Dominic, then read a book in bed until he fell asleep while reading, glasses askew on his face

Logan couldn’t stop thinking about their breakthrough during the day, and let Virgil leave early so that he could go get the books as soon as possible. He found several useful titles by reputable authors, and came back from the library with his backpack full of books to find that Patton was already at Food for the Mind. For the third time, they delved into the books, marking anyone that could even slightly be of use with the paperclips. 

They found a lot of newspapers from the date of imprisonment, but most of those didn’t tell them any more than they already knew. The papers and magazines dated from before the solstice helped them piece together more of a story on the mysterious Dragon-Witch. Judging by the many advertisements for her services, the Dragon-Witch had been creating a successful business from her rare powers, using them to help whoever she could in exchange for very low rates, or payment in ingredients for spells and potions. According to several of her customers, she had cured a wide spread of illnesses and ailments, and could make plants grow from dead ground overnight. Logan found many connections from these accounts to the spells he found in the magical books. Still, he turned up nothing on the shackles and “waves of energy” the reporter for Dee-Dee’s Hot Take had described, but he reminded himself that there were still a lot more magical books to go through. 

Patton became bored with the commoner’s-tongue books on magic, as they were getting quite repetitive. He started going through more of the magazines and newspapers, discounting no source as unreliable. If Dee-Dee’s Hot Take could give them their first lead, anything could. There was a ridiculous amount of material to go through for a one-month period, Patton had had no idea that there were so many publications in the capital a century ago. Newspapers had a tendency to repeat information among one another, but they also had a lot of useful tidbits. He made sure to check through all of the paper so as to not miss any detail that could potentially be life-saving. 

A lot of advice columns were packed full of people who had been relying on the Dragon-Witch for something important, but now had no idea what to do now that she was imprisoned. Most of the time, the columnists just advised their clients to look elsewhere for assistance and to save away money. They cited facts such as the rarity of sorcerers being born, the finality of the king’s sentence, and the way that magic always fades out unless kept properly. 

One columnist was particularly frustrated (read:pissed) at the sheer volume of people sending them letters about the Dragon-Witch, and dedicated their whole column to explaining the Dragon-Witch situation about a week after the solstice. They did extensive research on everything about the case they could find, and dug up some facts that were very useful to Patton and Logan. The whole article was an informational gold mine. 

I’ve received so many letters about the Dragon-Witch’s imprisonment that I decided to answer all of your questions in one article so that I can address other issues with this column.   
There are some who want to march into the palace with torches blazing and break the Dragon-Witch out of prison. As someone who has tried to penetrate castle defenses in search of a story more than once, I know that the defenses are close to impenetrable. Remember, the castle was where the whole city used to hide when we were under attack. It is made to not let anyone enter or exit without observation. Guards are stationed in every corridor, and they let no one pass unless they bear the crown’s insignia.   
To everyone who is biting their fingernails waiting for the Dragon-Witch(DW) to break out, know that it’s not going to happen. The prison she is being kept in was specially created to hold magical inhabitants. It is fashioned from Solus stone, sandstone mined from Mt. Sniketau during summer months. This stone blocks and represses all dark magic. If you saw the DW being hauled into the castle and expected her to make a heroic escape, her shackles were also made from Solus stone. The only thing that can damper the effects of Solus stone is a dark sorcerer who is outside of the stone’s reach. From afar, they can conduct magic that will break the stone, and could free the Dragon-Witch.   
Of course, sorcerers are such a rarity, let alone exclusively dark ones that this solution is highly illogical. So many people are asking how to move forward. The surefire way to do this is by preserving the magic for as long as possible while figuring out how to run things without it. If your magic has already run out, find a way to replace it and stick with it as long as needed. There is no way you can count on the DW’s escape. Please try to take your lives back to where they were before the Dragon-Witch. 

Talyn Felis

Patton showed the article to Logan, who immediately began searching through the books on sorcery he’d been looking at for verification of what Talyn had said. He clipped the article and put it in the file with the others. Logan found the passage he’d been looking for and showed it to Patton. 

The two boys looked at each other in astonishment. They’d found the answer to the puzzle: the stone could be broken with any object that harnessed dark magical power. 

“This is it,” Logan said, “All we have to do is find some magical object, harness it to break the stone, and set the Dragon Witch free.”

“Most museums have at least one magical artifact. Maybe we could...borrow it?” Patton was inherently uneasy at the idea of breaking the law, but if it saved lives, it couldn’t be too bad?

“Surely there’ll be one that’s willing to lend something to us,” Logan reasoned. 

“Don’t call me Shirley, but I think that’s a problem for tomorrow. It’s six-fifteen, and I need to be back at the orphanage really soon. I think we can scheme more tomorrow.” Patton left, and Logan continued his research alone, engrossed with the possibilities that lay before him. It was less fun without Patton there, but he accumulated new information so quickly that to do otherwise would be foolish. Knowing what the chains and cell were made of was of utmost importance, and Logan delved into tens of books as the sun set in the sky. 

He remembered dinner upon reading a page about food spells, and decided to eat his dinner while studying, almost falling asleep on top of an open book before dragging himself upstairs to bed. 

When Patton came by for the fourth day straight, Logan had already partially formulated a plan for freeing the Dragon-Witch. Anxious to share his ideas with Patton, Logan started talking as soon as Patton came in. 

“I looked into it, and since I’m about 97% certain I’m attuned to magic or whatever it turns out I can harness magical object’s power. There are 12 museums in the area that would probably be willing to lend us something as long as we say it’s for intellectual purposes because they’ve got huge collections that aren’t even on display. We have fifteen days, so if we do one museum a day worst-case scenario is we have 3 days to break into the castle and free the Dragon Witch. I’ve figured out transportation, there’s this guy Joan who used to work here but left to do theater who has a great car, one that actually runs…”Logan continued on, Patton nodding along until Logan finally paused. 

“That’s a great plan, but I don’t think we have fifteen days. The children are already starting to get sick, which probably has to do with the “the young die first’ line. Maybe to get this done quickly we could take something from the castle museum’s collection and then go and break the Dragon Witch out. I’m sure it’s breaking a thousand laws, but at least we won’t all die,” Patton explained, fidgeting with the hem of his shirt. 

“I think we can plan it out so we can do it tomorrow, and most of my ideas can still work for this,” Logan said, “We have blueprints, some equipment that could be useful, and we both own backpacks. I’ve read more spy books than is probably healthy, and I think I’ve picked up a few things.”

The planning began, and Patton and Logan both felt bad about stealing, but the words of the spell still rang true in their heads. This situation was sink or swim, and lives rested on their abilities to swim. Planning diversions, disguises, directions, and alibis took a lot of energy, but Patton and Logan dived into the work eagerly, as if it would alleviate their remaining insecurities over breaking a serious amount of laws. All too soon, six o’clock neared, and Logan promised to get what he could done overnight. Patton took work home, and both boys set about their task to save the kingdom. Tomorrow, they would put their plan into motion.


	9. The Quartet Of Questions

The spell was a pressing issue, so Virgil made sure to stop by the prince’s whenever she could. The guards at the gate didn’t recognize her at first, but after Roman came out and verified that, yes, she was a personal friend of the prince, they let her pass, albeit warily. After work, before work, whenever worked for planning. Her background knowledge on sorcery from overly superstitious parents combined with Roman’s talent for memorization made research smooth and efficient. In two days, the two formulated a solid plan. Roman knew a guy who could get them on a train to wherever in Straith no questions asked, and they would look in all the cities the Dragon Witch had visited in her prime for magical objects that could be used to break the chains and cells holding her. The research to formulate the plan had been dull and boring to Roman, but the adventure itself made them giddy with anticipation. 

It was 14 days before the solstice, according to Virgil’s constant internal countdown. She’d gone into the castle museum with Roman to finalize some details, like how they would harness the magical energy and whether or not their ride to all these cities was trustworthy. Afterwards, they planned to get all the supplies together and then go. 

“It’s a shame none of these items have any magical charge,” Roman said, looking at a vase on display that supposedly used to always be full of water, according to the sign. On an ordinary day, civilians would have immediately recognized them as the prince, but they had taken care to dress in clothing that could blend in anywhere in Atherton. It helped that not many people were visiting the museum this afternoon. 

“Yeah, that would simplify things, but how do we know if this random guy with train tickets is going to keep our secrets and deliver us safely?” Virgil asked, pinning Roman with an interrogating eye. 

“Relax, I met him through Thomas. Thomas is the most trustworthy guy you’ll ever meet, alright,” Roman said offhandedly, “He’d sooner die than lead anyone into harm.”

“Thomas who? Who is this guy?” Virgil asked, still in doubt. 

“He’s an actor, and he knows like, everybody. Also, he’s been a good friend of mine for years.He knows my deepest secrets. You can trust him.” Roman tapped their fingers against a rail. They were itching to go. 

“What sort of deepest secrets?” Virgil pressed.

“They’re my deepest for a reason. Maybe I’ll tell you them sometime. We should go.”

Virgil wasn’t really interested in what they were saying anymore. She was focused on a strange duo entering the museum that was doing a terrible job of subtly whispering to each other. Roman continued staring off into space, waiting for Virgil to give them the all clear to get this adventure on the road. 

The odd pair moved closer to Virgil and Roman, and Virgil realized she recognized one of them. “Logan? What are you doing here?”

Logan turned around. “Breaking the curse with the magical objects so that I can channel the magic and break the Solus stone, freeing the Dragon Witch and stopping the spell-”

“-none of these magical objects have any charge, and are you nuts? Stealing from the castle is impossible, as soon as the alarms are raised you’ll be caught. Immediately!” Virgil was shocked that Logan, reasonable and level-headed Logan, had even considered this. No, he’d planned for it. 

“Well, you left the burden of the whole entire country on my shoulders, so I did my best,” Logan nearly shouted. What had Virgil done for this?

“Guys, keep your voices down. You’re scaring the straights,” Patton said, tilting his head towards a straight twenty-something couple that was becoming kind of mad at the four teenagers who were kind of taking over the space in front of the vase display and yelling at one another. 

“Sorry,” Virgil said to Patton, “Logan, I am doing something for the prophecy. I’m allied with the freaking prince-”she gestured at Roman “-and we’ve got a pretty damn solid plan prepared, I got over my fear of doing something about this.”

Logan took a deep breath.“Alright, what’s your genius plan? It’s gotta be better than mine and Patton’s,” he said, cooling down a little. He could do something to help. Fighting Virgil wasn’t going to get him anywhere. They were on the same team, after all. It was only reasonable that they go with the plan that would actually work. 

Roman decided to take their opening and sell their plan as best they could. Their royal training showed in every syllable as Roman began their speech. “We’re going to chase the last of the Dragon Witch’s magic that remains, and use it to break her out of prison while hopefully finding out more about the curse itself. We’re planning on stopping in Midford and Dockerly first, the places where the Dragon Witch advertised the most. They are also undesirable destinations for the King’s Men, being in the desert and in the mountains, so the Dragon Witch’s magic will not be cleared out as thoroughly. Yours and Patton’s experience and knowledge will be invaluable on our journey.” Roman looked Logan in the eye, exuding confidence as best they could. Virgil and Patton stood near them, enraptured by Roman’s speech. 

There was a long period of silence. Then, Patton spoke. “So, are we going or what?”

“Uh, yeah,” Logan said, “But we all may need to make a few excuses before we leave. No one’s gonna be happy if we all abandon our jobs on the same day.”

Patton gulped, Virgil tensed, and Roman looked into the distance pensively. They all had their work cut out for them when it came to getting away from their duties here, Roman most of all.


	10. Excuses For The Best Trip Of Your Life

Virgil and Logan approached finding a replacement for their roles at the bookstore together. After both going through potential candidates and discovering several mutual friends, they knocked on Elliot’s door. Elliot was just old enough for an apprenticeship, and they needed to do something to get over their boyfriend. Logan and Virgil had wanted to do something to help them for months, and Virgil knew firsthand that nothing was as distracting as learning the Dewey Decimal system and shelving books all day. Convincing them and convincing Dominic was pretty simple, and they were on their way in no time. Logan accompanied Virgil to her house, where she left a short note for her parents, poorly explaining the situation. 

Patton requested emotional support for telling the caretakers that he would be away, and the other three obliged, slightly confused as to why he would need support. Once Virgil and Logan cleared up their situation, they set out for the orphanage. 

Soon after the trio entered the door, they understood perfectly. Two caretakers marched up to Patton and demanded to know why “she” was so late. 

Patton tensed up before answering, looking to Logan for support. Roman gave him a thumbs up, and Virgil nodded encouragingly. “On the topic of lateness, I think I’m going to take a vacation with my friends for a week and a half. I’ll be out of your hair, and you won’t have to see me for a while.”

“You have chores to do, and duties as an apprentice,” one caretaker scolded. “No way.”

“You won’t have to feed me or clothe me. Someone can take my room in the meantime,” Patton countered. 

“Fine. Be out of here by dinner.”

The other three followed Patton to the rooms behind the entranceway. He had to say goodbye to the children, let them know he’d be gone for now. They were in the dormitories, and Patton left the other three at the door when he went in. Most children said they would miss him, and several gave him little tokens they swore were lucky or helpful in some other way. Patton pocketed them all, and promised to return them soon. Several of the children were feverish, and quite a few coughed in between breaths when they spoke to him. If only their little gifts had actual power. 

“I had no idea,” Logan whispered to himself as he watched Patton talk with the kids. He’d known that Patton hated the orphanage, but he’d never understood why he stayed there until now. If Logan was king, he’d give more funding and better caretakers to these children. 

After many tearful goodbyes, the four left the orphanage and started heading to the palace. When they reached the gates, everyone turned to Roman. How were they going to get away from the palace? 

“Why are you all looking at me?” Roman asked, “Am I that beautiful or…?”

“No,” Virgil said, “I’m just wondering how you’re planning on getting out of your princely things and whatnot.”

There was a long, pregnant pause from Roman. Then, he spoke. “I’m not going to get out of the palace if I ask to leave. We just need to get in, get supplies, get out. I have lists.”

“Fine, but you better give us an explanation as to why the second most powerful person in Straith can’t get out of his own castle to go on vacation,” Patton said, starting towards the castle. Virgil, Logan, and Roman followed suit.

While Roman didn’t offer up any sort of explanation for their behavior. they had not been kidding when they said they had written lists. The four split up to get everything necessary, Patton and Logan following Roman and Virgil’s directions to the separate wings of the castle. Roman gathered supplies they’d laid out already in their room. With slight hesitation, they packed the red scarf. Virgil was nearby, but she was getting food in the kitchens. The four regrouped in Roman’s quarters to pack everything into backpacks properly, then headed out. 

There were secret passages leading all around the castle, originally designed for servants, but long forgotten by all except Roman. They led the group through the network of narrow, often unlit, hallways. Eventually, the quartet was outside the castle, in between the castle walls and a tenement advertising room and board. Not a soul was around. 

A long trek to Joan’s house began, since Roman couldn’t risk anyone guessing their identity out on the streets. They worked through alleyways and secret paths, following Roman’s map that they’d drawn up earlier. 

In the beginning, no one spoke, but Logan broke the silence. “How long is this going to take? I was not prepared to walk a thousand miles today.” Truth be told, Logan hadn’t been mentally prepared for an adventure today. He still wasn’t quite sure about leaving Archdale. 

“We’re three-quarters of the way there,” Roman said, taking a look at their map again. “And it’s two miles.” Unlike Logan, Roman had been aching to leave the capital city for years. 

“Can we eat some food yet?” Patton asked, hand already rummaging inside the bag for sandwiches. 

“No,” Virgil replied, “We didn’t plan for snacks.”

“Can’t I just have some of the vegetables?” Patton pulled out a bag of carrots. 

“Sure, if you don’t want to have them later,” Roman replied, focused on the map. 

Logan took a look at Roman’s map. “We can buy snacks after we get to Joan.” After a pause, he said, “Anyone want to do some team building activities? Since we’re on a quest together. I don’t want to fight with you guys.” His parents had always said team building was the most important thing for every group, and he’d probably done more than his fair share of them in this lifetime already. And he needed something to reassure him about going on this journey. But as he said it aloud, he realized how childish it sounded. 

A smile broke out over Patton’s face. “What’s the nicest thing anyone here’s done?” He looked at Logan with a twinkle of mischief in his eyes. Logan’s embarrassment became a thing of the past. 

“I saved a rabbit from being shot and eaten by hunters,” Roman offered, “Nice for the rabbit, but I was forbidden from hunting until I could be trusted to actually kill the animals.” As much as they were trying to not be the angsty teenage prince, Roman’s dramatic side cared more about the shock value of their statements. The dramatics won this battle. 

“You saved a bunny?” Virgil was surprised, Roman had always seemed like the type to not really care about animals. She’d never really talked about it with them, and the topic had never came up in conversation. 

“Yep. When I was ten. Virgil, what’s the nicest thing you’ve ever done?” They were eager to change the subject. It was a bit of a sore spot. 

“I held the door open for someone because I didn’t know where to go once I got out of the store and I didn’t want to be rude. Logan?” Virgil did not consider herself a particularly nice person, a trait that was mostly out of necessity. Kindness did not keep a job in a competitive world. 

“I read to children once a week. That’s the best I’ve got. Patton? I’m sure you’ve got oodles of good deeds to offer up.” Logan also volunteered at soup kitchens, did fundraising for various human rights organizations, and fostered puppies, but he didn’t really feel like elaborating on any of those topics. His parents had signed him up for most of them anyways. 

“I took care of no less than 14 sick children in the dead of winter while I was sick,” Patton said quietly, “And I think we’re here.”

Roman had stopped before a small house with a welcome mat that read “The One and Joanly.” They knocked on the door. 

“Roman! Thomas told me you’d be stopping by sometime soon.” Joan looked over at the other three with him. “You’ve got quite the road trip crew there. Come on in, I’ll get you some drinks and get the tickets. Fortunately for you all, there’s a train that runs directly to Midford, and another one that goes close to Dockerly from there. ” They led the four in, and starting getting drinks for everyone, then busied away to get the tickets.

The group sat for what seemed like a minute before Joan came back in. “Are we leaving for your quest thing or what? Train station’s a few blocks away.”


	11. Getting To Know One Another

The first stop on their journey was Midford, a medium sized but not particularly well known city. It lay halfway between the coast and and the eastern border, in the desert. The trip was two days, as Joan had warned, and the cramped conditions were irritating the passengers even a few hours in. They would sleep in the train as it continued towards Midford, and be there at the end of the next day.

Virgil and Logan took seats next to each other on the train, and talked up a storm about anything and everyone. Roman and Patton were suffering through awkward silence in the seats behind them, both trying to find something to say that wasn’t completely ridiculous. Joan went to the dining car, leaving the teens to their own devices. 

After an awkward half hour of silence, Patton asked the question that had been burning on his mind all day. “You rescued a bunny?”

Roman stopped staring off into space, startled. They realized what Patton was asking and began telling the tale. “Yeah, I was enamored with the idea of having a pet rabbit, even though my dad and stepmom were convinced that having a pet would make me less fit for the crown. It was after the king and some other nobles went out to hunt for sport. When I saw a cute little bunny dying from a gunshot, looking just like the pet I had always wanted, I picked it up and ran it over to the royal vet as fast as my tiny legs could carry me.” Roman illustrated their story with their hands and face, making Patton feel like he was on the palace lawn next to the prince, determined to save the little bunny. “The vet laughed at me, said there was no chance of survival and that there were too many rabbits already, so he wouldn’t heal this one.”

Patton’s face fell. “Aw, poor rabbit. He should’ve lived, that vet was cruel.”

“It was the last time I defied my parents.” Roman said, putting on an almost perfect straight face. They stared out the window at the land rushing by, as if dramatically having a flashback. 

“Really?” Patton asked, “I heard much different.” Rumor on the streets was that the prince was extremely defiant, and was something of a nuisance to the king, who wanted a perfectly polished heir. 

“No. I’ve defied them constantly since that day, out of spite. And, of course, a thirst for justice.” Roman smiled, enjoying Patton’s reaction to their small dramatic performance.

“That makes a lot more sense!” A laugh tumbled out of his mouth. “I heard you once hid out in a storeroom for a week because you didn’t want to deliver a speech.” Patton knew that the gossip probably wasn’t true, but they wanted to see if there was any truth to it. 

“It was two days, and it was because I couldn’t check books out from the Fiction section of the castle library,” they clarified, amused that their adventure had been blown so out of proportion. “Ever done anything like that?” Roman asked, curious about Patton’s life. He seemed like the sort of person they wanted to know better. 

“No, but I did set up a surprise party for someone-” Patton paused “-on the wrong day. The person comes into the room, everybody’s got confetti and cake and banners, we all cheer, and then they say ‘It’s tomorrow’” 

Roman guffawed. “Then what happened?”

“We celebrated anyways, and the cake was delicious. I got teased about it a lot though, no one trusted me with the dates of important events.” 

Patton and Roman continued swapping stories and laughing the whole ride until they couldn’t keep their eyes open any longer. As Virgil was painfully awake listening to Roman and Patton not-so-subtly giggling and talking late at night, she felt proud of Roman for making a friend. The thought distracted her from the gnawing sense of anxiety she felt about the days to come. If they didn’t find something, everyone would be doomed. 

The sun woke everyone up bright and early the next morning. As any traveler knows, it is nigh impossible to sleep with bright sunlight blaring in your face. Overnight, the other two passengers in Virgil and Logan’s row had left, so Roman and Patton took those seats when the group came back from breakfast in the dining car. After an hour of sleepy silence, conversation started and didn’t stop. Logan asked Roman about the castle library, Roman wanted to give them all wardrobe makeovers, Patton started a game of Would You Rather?, and Virgil laughed along with everyone, though she spent more time staring out the window than anything else. 

Logan and Patton were arguing about whether or not their senses of style were the same or not when Roman decided they needed to make an announcement. Logan was on the side that him and Patton were vastly different, Patton thought they had identical taste. Virgil wondered about when they would get to Midford.

With a dramatic hand gesture to capture the other three’s attention, Roman said, “Um, so since we’re going on a dangerous death quest thing together, I think we should be pretty...upfront with each other about personal stuff and anything that’s important for other, trusted people to know,” Roman said, with all the grace of a porcupine tumbling around a room made of cork boards. “Any objections?”

Everyone nodded, somewhat confused. 

“I’ve got something to get off my chest. I’m nonbinary. I know it’s a fairly new identity and the very idea of there being more than two genders is like, two years old, but it’s my identity. If you have any problems, please walk back to Archdale because I’m the one paying Joan. Oh, and when referring to me, please use ‘they’ instead of he or she because I’m more comfortable with it. It’s, uh, kinda how you refer to boats as ‘she’ even though there’s really no reason to except, like, the opposite.” Roman gave an awkward, forced smile. This was the first time they’d come out to anyone other than Thomas, and it was already ranking in the top 10 of their most stressful experiences. 

“Cool,” Patton said, “I’m a trans guy, so I get it. Thank you for being comfortable enough to share that with us. If you need anyone to talk to about gender-related issues, I’m here.” As the little ones would say, Patton was in “dad mode.”

“I’m fine with it,” Logan said, “There’s actually no scientific or evolutionary reason for there to be only two genders, and respecting identities I consider to be basic human decency. I’ll use your pronouns, and if you’re uncomfortable with anything just let me know.”

Virgil didn’t know what to say, so the awkward silence persisted for an uncomfortable amount of time. Finally, she spoke. “Ok by me. Makes a lot of sense, actually.” 

If deer in headlights had a role model they looked up to, at this moment it would be Roman. They cleared their throat and went back to figuring out what exactly the difference between Logan and Patton’s senses of style were. So far, Patton liked dogs and Logan didn’t-as much. Virgil proposed an armor-based style for herself, with accents of black and purple. Designing dream outfits took up hours, and Logan even took his notebook out to write the ideas down. Everyone, Joan included, ate lunch together in the car, and tried not to spill anything as the train bumped along the tracks. Late evening the conductor announced that there was a delay. They would reach Midford early the next morning. Before they all knew it, night had fallen, and Joan told them all to get some sleep. The young adventurers had an important day ahead of them. 

They slept like rocks in the uncomfortable seats, and awoke the next morning to Joan telling them that Midford was the next stop. Joan decided to book rooms in a local inn and get some rest after the journey. They told the group to go on and look for magic without them and come back if something required an adult. 

On Logan’s hunch, they went to a nearby pub to ask the bartender if there were any rumors of magic in the area. The dimly lit space was full of pleasant morning chatter and light piano music. Logan went directly to the bartender and asked about any rumors or fables about magic. The bartender, who introduced herself as Derionna, told the group to ask the guy playing the piano.

“He knows everything going on around here,” she said, cleaning out a champagne flute from the night before, “If anyone knows, it’s Jamahl.” The four walked over to the piano, nervous about what they may or may not find.

“Hey, Derionna told us you knew stories about magical happenings in Midford?” Logan asked the handsome man leafing through sheet music on the piano bench. Roman winced at the casualness of his statement, but since they were trying to keep a low profile, the young regent couldn’t do anything. 

“Why are you asking?” 

“We’re on a...scavenger hunt for our camp because today’s our free day to spend in town, and magic was the coolest item on the list,” Logan bluffed, hoping that there was actually a summer camp in the area or he was screwed. 

Jamahl looked down at his music and laughed. “Your counselors must have put that on the list as a joke, because while I do know many tall tales about magic, none of them actually lead anywhere. Believe me, I’ve tried. If there ever was any, it’s gone. Sorry to disappoint.”

“Ok,” Patton said, “We’ll go look for something else.” 

Roman dropped some money into the tip jar on the way out for their troubles. Patton, who would remain hopeful of living another day even if he was standing at the guillotine, asked around a couple more places, but everything turned up the same result. They would find no magic in Midford.

Back at the inn, Roman told Joan, who said there was a train to Dockerly coming tomorrow. Patton suggested they get some more food from the store, and, disenhearted, Roman and Virgil went with him. Logan talked to Joan about their quest some more, and went to the local library to look into any magical happenings in their next town, Dockerly. The librarian there was particularly helpful, and Logan found all the information he needed. 

The next morning, the group prepared themselves for another long haul. Dockerly was in the mountains, and they would only be able to take the train to a town just outside the mountains. From there, they’d hire someone with a horse and cart to take them the the rest of the way. During the train ride, Patton, unbeknownst to everyone else, had bought a book of car games in Midford. It was a welcome distraction from the stiflingly hot atmosphere of the train car. 

When he took the book out, Logan was impressed. “How do you remember this stuff?” 

“I think ‘what would the kids need,’ and I plan for that, because it’s more fun that way,” Patton said. “Who wants to play a game of ‘never have I ever’?”

“Me,” Roman said, sitting up straighter in anticipation. “Virgil, you go first.”

“Um...ok. Never have I ever kissed a boy.”

Patton put a finger down, so did Logan. 

“Business party.”

“Roommate.” 

Roman raised their eyebrows. “You have to tell me more than just that.”

Both of them blushed and quickly looked at their surroundings as if the floor had become extremely interesting. Roman elected themself to go next. “Never have I ever...read three books in a day.”

Logan put another finger down, as did Virgil. All three looked at Virgil, surprised. 

“It was this really good gritty horror series and I read the whole trilogy one after the other. I barely ate or drank. You guys should read it sometime.” She shrugged, trying to play it off like it wasn’t a big deal, even though it was obvious from Roman and Logan’s expressions that it was. 

Everyone found the new information about Virgil very intriguing, but Logan cut their thoughts off with another question. “Never have I ever read the same book more than three times.” Virgil, Patton, and Logan all put a finger down, leaving Roman the only one with all their fingers. 

Patton went next, and after the initial awkwardness subsided, the game was rather fun. Virgil managed to surprise Roman with the simplest of things, like sleeping with stuffed animals and eating giant squid. 

“I thought that you were basically a hermit that lived alone and perfected your collection of dark clothing,” they remarked at one point.

Meanwhile, Patton was losing terribly, Logan and Virgil were both at two and three fingers, and Roman had lost one finger over the stuffed animals. Despite his happy-go-lucky attitude, Patton had some surprising stories to tell. 

The game ended, with Roman being the last standing, right around lunch. They all got off at the small town of Avison and ate lunch with Joan, who wanted to know why they’d been laughing so much during the ride. In the afternoon, the cart taking them to Dockerly was way too bumpy to play any sort of game, so they all just talked, keeping the conversation going well into the night. Shortly after they had all become too tired to talk, they had reached a small inn in a tiny one-horse town where the party would sleep that night. They were a good deal past the foothills, and the air was already growing cold and thin as the mountains became larger.


	12. Harry Potter Had A Good Reason To Be Surprised

That morning, the man driving the cart took them the next three hours to Dockerly. Travel was beginning to wear on the whole group. Dark circles were starting to gather under eyes, clothes were wrinkled and dirty from the cart and the train combined, and everyone’s energy was lower than usual. Nonetheless, once in Dockerly, Roman, Patton, and Virgil followed Logan to every location the Midford librarian had told him held magic. There were only three, and by lunchtime they were once again disappointed by their finds. The rumored box with infinite coins was a fake, the soil that grew a record amount of crops was just really well tended to, and there was no river that flowed upside down. Joan went off to explore the town while the four teenagers ate lunch at a small mom-and-pop restaurant, choosing to sit outside and enjoy the view.

“Now what?” Patton asked the other three. He looked out at the grand mountains surrounding them, white snow shining from the peaks. With scenery like this, the trip almost didn’t feel real. He half expected to wake up back at the orphanage, the whole thing no more than a dream. 

“I guess we go to the next potential town. Headow isn’t far from here, and maybe it’ll turn up something,” Logan reasoned, taking another bite out of his sandwich. 

“If we didn’t find any magic in the two places where the Dragon Witch went the most, what makes you think we’ll find it in Headow? We should go back to Archdale and do more research.” Virgil doubted this plan would work, a century was a long time for things to get lost or lose their charge. If they turned back now, there was at least a chance that they could free the Dragon Witch before the solstice. 

“It’s worth a shot,” Roman said. “And there’s no way I’m going back to Archdale.” They wanted this blissful escape from reality to continue more than anything. 

Logan was curious. The prince had never talked much about their life in the castle. “Why not?”

“Politics.” They started to dig into the snacks, avoiding eye contact. 

“What politics?” 

“It’s top secret,” Roman said through a mouthful of potato chips. 

“It could change the history of Straith for the worse if you didn’t tell us. As a royal, doesn’t protecting your country come first?” He was getting this story out of Roman even if it took a day and a half, and even if the prince insisted on talking with food in their mouth. Logan had thought they would have better table manners. 

Roman rolled their eyes. Logan had a point.“Fine. Basically, my dad has a bunch of really awful legislature he plans to enact, then abdicate the throne and have me rule. It’s stuff like making fourteen-year-olds subject to the same working hours and difficulty of adults-while increasing those working hours, giving big industry companies land and money, and allowing most of our natural resources to be destroyed. Things like twelve-hour days are already legal, and he wants to make it even worse. His plan is to let what is nearly slave labor happen in our country, then leave me with the fallout while still maintaining some control. If I don’t go back, King Epos won’t dare pass the legislation if he has to take the blame, and I’ll be free to do what I want. I’m considering saving the country, then getting on a ship to Dijen.” 

“That’s why you didn’t tell anyone you were leaving,” Logan said, eyes dark with concern.

Patton was shocked at the whole predicament. “You should’ve told us earlier, so we could make sure no one saw. At least one person recognized you in Midford. I wish I’d known.”

“Sorry, Patton. I should have been more upfront with you all.” Roman scratched the back of their neck. 

Virgil and Logan had a lot of questions about why Roman had ran away, and so their lunch went on a lot longer than it probably should. Patton listened quietly, thinking of ways to help his new friend. It would be difficult to keep one of the best-known people in Straith from being recognized, but there had to be a way. 

They were right in the middle of debating whether or not Roman could pull off repealing the legislature before his father knew, when Joan ran up to the table, panting and sweaty. 

“I barely got here in time,” they gasped, “Roman, King’s Men are here for you. Some librarian told them you were here. All of you, go, uh, hide somewhere they won’t go. I’ll try to distract them.” They ran off. 

Logan tensed up. He’d offhandedly mentioned to the Midford librarian that Roman would be happy with the info. Now they were paying the price. Not a second after Joan left, Virgil motioned for everyone to follow her and darted into an alleyway. The other three followed her until she stopped. 

She stood in front of two large trash bins that reeked of dead things and rotten food. “Come on. Get behind them, they won’t want to look here.” Virgil went behind the bins, and Patton followed on her heels. Logan and Roman hesitated, but went in as well. 

“Aren’t there better places to hide?” Roman asked, eyeing a moldy banana peel with disgust. 

“Not that won’t get us captured,” Virgil countered, “And be quiet or someone will hear us.” 

For what seemed like forever, the four waited. No one spoke, they barely moved at all. Intermittently, they heard footsteps and gruff voices. Roman recognized them as those of King’s Men, but didn’t dare mention it to the others. Any sound could get them caught and back at the castle before you could say “prophecy.” 

All of them sucked in an involuntary breath as the footsteps came closer to their hiding place. They approached the side of the bin that Virgil was on first. She was terrified, unable to form any thoughts as her brain was entirely occupied with fear, but nevertheless stood up in front of the soldier, planning on distracting him or making an excuse. Patton held his breath as he watched her, knowing how much of their plan hinged on the next few seconds. 

Virgil felt her heart skip a beat as she raised her shaking hands in defense of the man, almost putting them above her head in a “stop” motion. “Listen, I don’t know who you’re looking for or what you’ll do with them, but-” 

A bright purple light flashed across her vision, momentarily blinding her. Virgil squinted, suddenly dizzy. She looked at the King’s Man in front of her. He was frozen, still looking at her somewhat shocked. A purple sheen covered him from head to toe. Her jaw dropped, and she looked at her hands, then turned around to the other three. 

“Did-did I just do that?” As Virgil looked around, she saw that not only was the King’s Man in front of her frozen, but the other two who were with him. Nothing else was touched by the purple. Dim rays of sun still filtered into the alleyway, and loose trash fluttered in the light summer winds. 

“You’re a sorcerer,” Patton whispered, just loud enough for them all to hear. The weight of his words hung in the air. 

“Let’s get going,” Roman said, trying their best to appear unimpressed, although they were actually incredibly impressed.“If they went to the alleys, they searched everywhere. Standard procedure is businesses and residences first, then streets, then the backstreets. Hopefully, we can find Joan.”

With the group member voted least likely to be noticed leading the way (Logan), the four crept through the city backways until they ran into Joan. In frantic whispers, Joan told the four that they’d found a friend who could take everyone back to Archdale on a coal train. They lead the group to the train, showing them all to the caboose. Wordless, the teenagers piled in, and no one spoke until Dockerly was far out of sight behind them.


	13. Crash Course Magic

“Joan, I’m sorry I dragged you into this. Virgil, Logan, Patton, you too. You all could get in serious trouble for this, and it’s not fair to ask that of you. I shouldn’t have done this. If you want to leave when we get back to Archdale, that’s fine with me.” Roman lowered their head, casting a shadow across their face. Their previous princely attitude was gone, with a scared teenager in place. 

Logan adjusted his glasses and gave Roman a piercing look. “There’s no way I’m leaving, Roman. This is important, and I’m not going to let that spell happen. No matter what, you’ll have me.” 

The other two remained silent, their heads full of thoughts. Virgil was scared of prison or worse, and she knew that if anyone found out about her abilities, she’d never see the sun again. Yet no one would live if she didn’t use those abilities as best she could. Deep in her heart, Virgil knew that the spell was real. There was no doubt in her mind that awful things would happen after the solstice if nothing was done to stop them. 

Patton had no doubt that he would stay with Roman and Logan to help, but he was at the same time not ready to. Of all three of them, he had the least helpful abilities. Sure, he could plan for a road trip, but he knew nothing of magic or storming a castle. All the same, there was no way he could stand idly by while the lives of the children at the orphanage were at stake. With what few skills he had, Patton had to help. He was the only parent those children had left. 

“I’m in,” Virgil said, her voice slightly shaking. She still wasn’t quite over the interaction with the King’s Men.

“So am I.” Patton looked at Roman to see their reaction. Their soft smile was genuine. 

“Oh yeah, and I’m sticking around. You all need a responsible adult. Teenagers,” Joan said, acknowledging Roman with a nod from the window. Purple streaks of sunset sped by as the train rushed onwards. 

Still full of newborn courage, Virgil said, “So, Logan, does your bookstore have anything on sorcery?” She shifted in her seat towards Logan.

“Yeah,” Logan replied, “And since you’ll probably pick up the sorcery language really quickly, we can start as soon as we get there. I’d recommend you work with Patton more than me, though. I’m…”

“Blunt with little regard for emotions?” Roman offered, looking away from the window. In true theatrical fashion, they’d been pretending to be the main character in a fantasy novel, contemplating life as their surroundings rushed by. 

“Yeah, basically,” Logan said, shrugging. 

“Thanks Logan! I’ll do my best, but you’ll have to help me with understanding the books. Still can’t speak sorcery,” Patton said, smiling at Logan.

Logan blushed. “The language isn’t called sorcery, it’s called Eirsh. Why that is, I don’t know.”

“Guess I’ll hide then,” Roman said. 

 

“You’ll be excellent moral support, Roman,” Logan said, “And we won’t be able to get into the castle without you. You’re not going to be completely useless.” 

That night, they slept in the old seats of the train car, sometimes lying across one another just so that a leg or arm could be fully extended. After the strenuous events of the last few days, sleep was a welcome escape. That morning, Joan woke them up and got everyone out into a small town in the foothill. They somehow managed to find a kindly farmer who offered to take them along with him to Archdale. He was going to visit his wife and kids, and filled the empty silence on the way back with stories of his family. 

Nonetheless, making the final leg back to Archdale was tense. Roman hid their face with a hat so that no one looking through the windows could see them, and Virgil couldn’t stop looking out the window for King’s Men or curious passerby. Logan and Patton quietly talked about teaching Virgil together, keeping their voices low so as not to make Virgil aware of their plans. After what seemed like an eternity, they arrived in Archdale

The farmer took them all to Joan’s house. Joan wished the group good luck on the rest of their adventures, then shooed the teenagers off to Logan’s place. Going on their suggestion to continue their quest at Food For The Mind, the group took advantage of the nearly deserted mid morning streets to take a quick walk over there. Virgil charged ahead of the rest of the group. There were 9 days left until the solstice, and she was going to make good use of every one. 

Meanwhile, Logan thought out the logistics of staying at his bookstore. His parents were going to be back at the end of the week, which left Logan two days to figure out how to explain why he had to have three friends, none of which they’d met before, over at the bookstore for a week. He was not looking forward to that conversation, even though his plan was to tell the truth and leave it at that. 

Logan tested his explanation on the two people who had been running Food For The mind in his absence. Dominic understood fairly well when he explained, and Elliot was fine with Virgil replacing them. 

“I did some reading while I worked at the store. Our relationship was never what it should have been,” they said when Logan broke the news. 

With that issue out of the way, the challenge at hand was running the bookstore while teaching one of its employees how to use her sorcery. Patton and Roman decided to shelve books whenever there weren’t customers, and Virgil would do her employee things whenever customers were present. Everyone was on board with the plan, and Logan managed to scrounge up enough blankets that everyone could sleep in the small apartment over the store with him. With only three people living there, it had seemed the perfect size, but the place was not meant to hold four teenagers. Logan dreaded trying to fit everyone in when his parents returned. Six people might be beyond the small loft’s capacity. But he was too tired to even think about that. That afternoon they didn’t do much more than unpack some things and kinda sorta run the bookstore. Logan closed the doors at 3.

Patton made everyone a simple dinner, and the whole group went to bed early. The trip, and the discoveries it had brought, were exhausting. Virgil was nervous about her sorcery and if it could help, Patton tried to think of nothing as he drifted off, Roman shoved aside worries of their father, and Logan went over the ethics of harboring a prince who was supposed to be in their castle. They slept. 

Morning came too soon. All four set up the bookstore, then Logan went and sat at the counter and Roman, Virgil, and Patton grabbed all the books on sorcery they could find, went to the storage room, and got to work. Virgil understood Eirsh almost intuitively, and her books had a lot of information about how magic works. Roman and Patton found little, just a few paragraphs connecting magic to emotions. After going through four thick volumes and marking everything relevant, Virgil started attempting the spells described in the books. 

At first, nothing much happened. Occasionally, a flicker of purple would come across Virgil’s hands, or a book would fall down. For hours, Virgil tried a simple levitation spell on a book to no avail. Patton and Roman advised Virgil as best they could, but they didn’t really know what they were doing. 

“Uh, strong emotions trigger magic skills the best,” Patton said, “So maybe direct your feelings towards the book?”

Virgil obliged, concentrating on the book even more intently. She tried to focus everything she was feeling on the book while visualizing it floating an inch or two off the ground. It moved a little. 

“Don’t channel all of your emotions,” Roman offered. “Since you’re a dark sorcerer, the emotions that turn on your sorcery are all negative. Fear, anger, jealousy, and guilt are listed here as being the best ones.”

This time, the book flew across the room, hit the wall, and stayed there. Virgil looked back at Roman. “Is that better?” The book fell to the ground. 

“Maybe control those emotions a little better,” Roman said, “I think they got carried away from you there.”

For an hour, Virgil practiced moving the book. Her control increased, and she even managed to move it forwards and backwards a little. Patton cheered her on, and Roman pored over the books some more. 

“Apparently there’s levels to sorcery, and you’re a never-ever, so according to this description you’re a level 2. ‘Few large-scale expressions of powers, just learning control of emotions and how they affect his/her sorcery.’ Sounds like you,” Roman said, turning the page of their book. “There should be little notations on the spells for what level the sorcerer has to be to do them.”

“Oh that’s not good,” Virgil said, “The little number next to the spell for destroying Solus stone is a 28. What’s the description for that?”

“‘20-30: Well-established control of powers, adept at creation spells and illusions. Dark sorcerers start to see their powers manifesting physically, and light sorcerers start to see physical changes such as an unusual radiance/glow from the skin.”

“There is no way I can get to that level in a week unless a miracle happens,” Virgil said, the book shooting up to the ceiling and leaving a dent before ricocheting and knocking Roman’s book out of their hands. 

“I’m sure you can get there!” Patton said, “It’s not as bad as it sounds.”

“Says the person who wasn’t struggling with levitating a book,” Virgil grumbled, “Speaking of which, what’s the next level up from this spell?” She made the book do a few loops and shoot all around the room without touching anything. 

“Beats me, you’re the one who can read the books with spells in them,” Roman said. 

“Oh.” Virgil walked over to her books and looked for a spell that wasn’t going to destroy any property, a surprisingly difficult task. “Unless I can set something on fire, there’s nothing here that’s really helpful. Everything is just breaking things or moving something else around, which I’m pretty sure I’m already good at.”

“Can you write something with a pen without touching it?” Patton asked. He’d been curious about it ever since Virgil had started moving the book around, just because it was a really cool concept. 

Hands outstretched, Virgil concentrated on the pen Roman held to take notes with. The pen shook slightly as it rotated vertically, then moved over to a blank sheet of paper. As it touched down on the paper, Virgil’s face became more flushed. In shaky writing, she wrote her name on the paper. 

“Two inch letters. Could be worse,” Roman said. 

“Roman! Be nice, it’s her first try,” Patton scolded. “Virgil, keep practicing that. According to Roman’s book”-he leaned over-“you have to fully master the spells of each level before you can go to the next one.” 

Logan popped his head into the room. “Lunchtime, and thanks for all the help, Virgil. Patton, Roman, I need one of you out here this afternoon. There was a teacher who needed about four class sets of different books, and I can’t do all the restocking and shuffling on my own. Virgil, keep working on leveling up your sorcery, it’s the best thing you can do right now.” He left, and after some hesitation, Patton, Roman, and Virgil followed. 

“How did you know about the levels?” Roman asked Logan as they ate lunch. Today, their lunch was everything left over from the trip since Logan’s parents had a strict no-junk-food policy, and they were going to be here tomorrow. Joan had refused to take any of the food, despite Roman and Patton’s many offers. 

“I did a lot of research on sorcery with Patton when we were trying to learn about the Dragon Witch,” Logan said, taking another handful of potato chips, “What level are you, Virgil?”

“Two, and it’s not looking like I’ll level up very soon. It’s really difficult.” 

“I’ll help you this afternoon, since I’ve got a good deal of background knowledge on the subject,” Logan offered. “Keep practicing, you’ll get it soon.”

They ate all the food Logan’s parents would definitely not allow except for a bag of candy that Patton wanted to give to the kids at the orphanage. That afternoon, Roman and Patton switched between helping Logan with stacking books and coaching Virgil. Virgil practiced her sorcery, and improved a lot by the time the store closed. She was almost ready for level 3 spells. 

For a few hours after closing, all four worked on improving Virgil’s sorcerer abilities. With everyone’s encouragement, she improved rapidly. Level 3 was mostly a continuation of Level 2, but with the introduction of small transformation spells, changing colors and the like. Much to Patton’s delight, she could color his hair rainbow, although the spell did wear off. She practiced on her hair too, turning it pink and purple, then back to the usual brownish-blond. 

However, Logan’s parents were exactly the sort of people who could not stand coming home to a messy apartment. The four spent most of the evening cleaning the apartment above the bookstore and organizing the storage room since Virgil had made quite a mess there while practicing, and couldn’t control her powers enough to fix things with sorcery. They had a quick dinner and went to bed. 

Logan half-expected to be woken up by his parents that morning, they were never ones to leave the duties of the bookstore to their son more than necessary. No, he knew they were home when he walked down to the bookstore with Virgil and Patton to take some books out of the storage room. Roman was still upstairs, eating their breakfast.

Both of Logan’s parents were sitting at the round reading table where Patton and Logan had researched the Dragon Witch. 

“Hi Dad. Hi other Dad,” Logan said, “How was your trip?”

“Pretty good,” Corbin said, “We made some awesome deals with suppliers and met some other bookstore owners.”

“It was awesome! We went to the ocean every day and got you a lot of gifts. You’ll love them, although I may need to borrow some of the books every once in a while. And we made so many new friends, I may actually need to learn to cook so we can have dinner parties and stuff,” Sloane said. 

Virgil entered the room. “Oh, are these your parents?” she asked Logan.

“Yep. That’s them.”

“Who’s this?” Corbin said, looking at Logan suggestively. “Did you get a-“

“-This is Virgil, she’s the employee Dominic and I hired so we could have extra help while you were gone.”

“I see,” Sloane said, looking at his husband. “You don’t think…”

“No. Absolutely not,” Logan said, starting to turn red. 

Unfortunately for Logan, Patton entered the room just then. 

“And who is this?” Sloane asked. “You can’t have possibly needed two employees while we were gone.”

“Dad, Pops, this is Patton Cahen. He’s here to help out some, yes, but also for a…project.” Logan was turning even redder. 

“Nice to meet you, Mr. Gaines and Mr. Gaines,” Patton said, extending a hand to shake. 

“Oh, call me Sloane, and thank you for being so polite!” Sloane winked at Logan over Patton’s shoulder as they shook hands. 

Corbin gave Sloane the look of “don’t torture our kid anymore.” 

“Sorry about my parents, guys,” Logan said, fidgeting with his glasses. “They’re kind of embarrassing.”

“They’re alright,” Virgil said. Patton nodded in agreement. 

Logan cleared his throat. “Patton, Virgil, could you leave me and my parents alone for a little bit? I have to explain some…things.” 

Once the two had left the room, Corbin and Sloane’s expressions shifted to seriousness. “We know that you can’t have two people over for normal bookstore operations. What’s happening, Logan?” Corbin asked his son. “We do trust you, but there are certain limits, and I’m worried that you may have crossed some of those while your father and I were away.”

It was impossible for Logan to ignore the sense of being on trial. “There’s this…prophecy of sorts that Virgil knew about for some reason. She is an employee here, and on her first day here I showed her around and everything. At the end of the day, she left this letter with the spell on it, and a credible story about how that came about, and that she couldn’t help. I knew I had to do something about it, but there was going to be too much to sort through on my own. So I asked Patton-he comes in a lot during my shift-to help me, and he did. Little did I know that she also looked for help. I guess eventually she realized that she had to help too, so she somehow found the prince, Roman, and got hi-them to help as well. Her and the prince came up with a plan that was a hundred times better than what Patton and I had. We...ran into each other and carried out that plan they had, as a larger group. To stop the curse, we thought that a magical artifact could break the spellcaster out, so we travelled to a few places with Joan-he’s a friend of Thomas’s? You know, the travelling actor who came in one afternoon and had tea with you guys?”

“I remember him,” Sloane said, “Go on, I’m curious to see how you all got here.”

“Well, along the way we found out that Virgil’s a dark sorcerer, which was a surprise for her too. We didn’t find any magical artifacts, so we came back here and decided training her was the best course of action to break the curse. Now we’re all running the bookstore and learning more about sorcery. I didn’t touch your personal collections, though. You know what? I’m going to give you my file on the curse and sorcery so I don’t have to explain this whole thing to you.” Logan made a hasty exit. 

“Do you think our son’s under some sort of magical influence?” Corbin asked Sloane.

“Yeah, there is no way he would normally do any of that. He’d rather observe that spell than go out and stop it,” Sloan replied. “Maybe he’s growing out of that, but it doesn’t seem likely. Especially not over two weeks.”

Logan re-entered. “Here.” He plunked the folder on the table, then disappeared into the apartment to warn Roman of his parents. 

Roman was making their way through a bowl of oatmeal when Logan burst into the apartment. “My parents are here. You need to work some serious royal convincing skills to make them actually consider letting you stay here because they are not fans of just letting anyone stay here. The chores are brutal,” Logan said.

“Oh”-Roman yawned-“ok. I just woke up, but ok. I’ll go down there after I get dressed.”

“Alright,” Logan said, “Just hurry up. They’re probably going to be more mad the longer I wait to tell them that the missing prince is staying here.”

Fortunately for Logan, Roman’s princely charm worked amazingly on Sloane and Corbin. Before lunchtime, Corbin and Sloane were absolutely delighted with their new houseguest and excited to help the whole crew with their quest. Logan was unnerved. 

“My parents like you more than they like me,”he told Roman when the dads left the room to get some books. 

“What can I say, I’m likeable,”Roman said with a slight smile. They tapped their fingers on the table. It was not the first nervous tic of the prince’s that Logan had noticed. 

Sloane and Corbin delegated the task of running the bookstore to Logan and Patton for the day. The couple supervised Virgil’s practicing sorcery while chatting with Roman. The books in their private collection were almost all sorcery-based, and they had a lot of background knowledge on the art of sorcery. Virgil flourished under their trainings, rising to level ten. Roman enjoyed talking to them, especially about politics. They understood their predicament, somehow, and helped them begin to formulate a plan about overthrowing his father if the incantation was stopped. 

Every day, Virgil’s sorcery abilities improved infinitesimally. Well, actually they improved exponentially, but I had to roast Logan at least once here. Under the mentorship of Logan’s dads, she expanded her power so much that it was hard to believe the things she could accomplish. 

Roman was proud of her. From just reading the books on sorcery, they knew that it was extremely difficult. Virgil progressing like this was a product of her hard work and dedication, quite a change from the girl who was so afraid of doing something about the prophecy that she handed a note to a stranger. 

But as they thought about Virgil’s progression through the levels, Roman had the sinking feeling that, no matter how hard Virgil worked, she was not going to be at the level she needed to be by the end of this week. And under pressure, they had no idea how she’d do. Knowing Virgil’s tendency to think the worst, and overthink it, she would probably do worse with the weight of the world on her shoulders.

That meant that the kingdom needed a backup plan. Roman knew that with their power and status, there was no one better to put in as a backup. But, oh, the stakes! They would have to give so much up-was it even worth it? 

Yes. Yes. For the kingdom, for their friends. There was no other way. Roman took the red scarf out of their bag and put it around their neck. What better way to continue his mother’s legacy than sacrifice?

It didn’t take long to write down a few things on a stray piece of paper, to remember just in case. Then, they went back to alphabetizing the new fiction books. 

Virgil burst through the door to the back room, startling Roman. “So, I went to my house early this morning to look for some...stuff and I found that there was a backside to the prophecy. Basically, this”-she gestured at the general area-“was all prophesied.” She waved a scribbled-on receipt in their face. Roman read it. 

“So this was all predicted. The four of us. Interesting, but makes sense. I haven’t felt particularly in control of my actions during this journey,” Roman said, “Have you...felt like that at all?”

“Yeah, some. It was weird how quickly I switched from not wanting anything to do with the prophecy to throwing my all into stopping it. Also, Logan doesn’t seem like quite the type for this. He’s too absorbed in his books. Patton, maybe. But even so, with how much he loves the kids at the orphanage, it doesn’t make sense that he left them at the drop of a hat,” Virgil said. “Maybe we’ll actually stop the prophecy. I need to tell Patton!”

She left the room, and Roman went back to sorting. Yes, they would stop the prophecy. Roman was sure of that much.


	14. Hustle Harder

It appeared that Roman’s reign of unimportance was over. Now, the prince was extremely busy preparing themself for talking to the king, mapping out everywhere things could go wrong, and revising the guard’s protocol, committing it to memory. The last thing they wanted was to be stuck in a cell with no way to see the king. Of course, all of this had to be done without their friends knowledge. Roman hated lying to them, it was uncomfortably close to what their own father did, but hopefully there would be no need for this plan. They didn’t want to worry Virgil, Patton, and Logan with the weight of their sacrifice. 

While Roman performed their secret operation in the dead of night, Virgil was putting her all into learning sorcery. She’d moved up two levels, and was continuing to progress amazingly. Sloane and Corbin were awed by her rapid improvement, since the standard for reaching level 20 was at the very least two months. Virgil credited their teaching as the reason for her getting this far, but the other major component was seeing the other side of the paper. Like it or not, her destiny was to stop the curse or die trying. It had the potential to be a cruel fate, but the only thing standing between her and success was how well she could perform sorcery. She did not want everyone in Straith to die because of her. 

Patton and Logan occasionally helped Virgil, when they weren’t running the bookstore. Though Dominic did stop by, Roman was always mysteriously occupied with something in the back room, so it was Logan and Patton who ended up shelving books and dealing with customer complaints. 

“Do you ever wish you could do more for the curse?” Patton asked Logan. They were both sitting at the counter, talking a little while Logan drew in a notebook and Patton flipped through magazines. 

“A little, yeah, but I’d rather not have the whole country’s fate resting squarely on my shoulders like Virge, and kinda Ro too. Plus, I’m giving them both a place to stay and valuable resources. They’ll thank me when this is all over,” Logan said.

“I’m not really doing much, if you think about it.” Patton sighed. 

Logan looked up from his paper. “It doesn’t look like it, but you do a lot. I don’t think a shy bookworm, a sheltered prince, and an anxious...Virgil could work together if we didn’t have you. You tie everyone together. Even Roman likes you, and they only really like to be around Virgil.”

Patton gave a small smile. “Really?” 

“Yeah. It’s kind of obvious, everyone sort of gravitates to you. You’re like a little sun.”

“That’s the nicest thing anyone’s ever said to me,” Patton said in a hushed tone.

“Thanks,” Logan said, “It’s true.”

The few days before the solstice passed much to quickly for Roman and Virgil’s comfort. While Virgil had reached level 25 and should be able to perform the Solus stone spell, it was still a stretch. She would have to exhibit control over her power twice or three times greater than anything she’d ever attempted before. Roman was unsure about their ability to remember all of the laws and protocols, and was deathly afraid of facing their father. Having the whole kingdom on their shoulders felt very uncomfortable Speaking of kingdoms, Roman had talked to Sloane and Corbin about forms of government other than a monarchy-entirely in hypotheticals, of course. They’d come to the conclusion that the country would likely be better off as a representative democracy or something similar. Hopefully, Roman could secure a future like that. 

Late in the night, Roman made plan after plan for when they would finally lay siege to the castle. They kept it from Sloane and Corbin, knowing that the dads would never agree to most of what they were proposing. Right now, Roman knew they were the only one who knew the castle well enough to successfully break into it.


	15. Deadline

It was the eve of the solstice, and at a long last the insanity of the previous-Roman couldn’t believe it had been three weeks. The time felt much longer and much shorter at the same time. But now was not the time to reminisce, the curse was now or never. 

Roman assumed the role of leader/drill Sargent/commander. Wrapping their mother’s scarf around their neck under the cloak, they began. “Okay, the time when the castle is the most vulnerable is when the royals are eating dinner. Lots of guards move close to the kitchens, to defend the king’s food from poisoning, and most of the servants have dinner then too,” Roman said. They were all huddled in the closed bookstore to run through strategy, dressed in dark hooded cloaks so no one would see their faces. Patton had joked that they looked like a herd of Virgils when they had all first put them on. Sloane and Corbin were busy getting anything they thought would help the group on their journey. 

Fingergunning Virgil, Roman said,“There will be two guards at the gate. We need some sort of diversion to get them away from there, since two bodies on the ground or two people frozen in place raises suspicion.”

“I can rustle leaves or something,” Virgil said, looking at the floor. 

“I have a passcode for servants that will get us through the door. From then onwards, everyone needs to follow Logan and I. While we’re making our way to the dungeons, Patton and Virgil, keep a close eye on anyone we come across, but not too close. Virgil needs to use her freeze spell on anyone who notices us. We all need to act like we know what we’re doing, and like we’re meant to be there. Got that?” Roman would have the hardest time fitting in of them all, but at least if they got captured it wouldn’t mean too much legal trouble. 

They all nodded. “If I know anyone, can I ask them to keep quiet instead?” Patton asked. 

“Yeah, but if they’re untrustworthy, Virgil may need to use something more aggressive than a freeze spell. She can scramble their memory of the past minutes if needed, but she can’t quite finesse it yet. That could get nasty.” Roman unfolded a paper and laid it out so everyone could see it. 

“Got it.” Patton gulped. As nice of a friend and person Roman usually was, they could also be intimidating. 

Roman pointed at the paper. “This is a map of the dungeons. The first level has a lot of security, but there is a back way here. We just need to be really quiet. Don’t sneeze, burp, curse, fall, talk, or anything else that could make a sound. The lower levels have fewer guards, but I can make my way through them. They know me, and they’ll side with me. If I screw up, Virgil should scramble their memories. That should not happen, but we need to be prepared for all possibilities. At the very bottom of the dungeons is the cell where the Dragon-Witch is. There shouldn’t be any guards at her cell. Patton and Logan, your job is to defend Virgil with me as she performs her spell. No matter what, it’s likely that someone will see us, and we still don’t know if Virgil will actually perform the spell.”

“If things go south, we need to get out of the dungeons and go to the throne room. Then, we take out the king and I take his place. Questions?” Roman abruptly folded the paper, stowing it away in their bag. 

Everyone shook their heads, and so they made their way out of the bookstore. 

“Alright, goodbye!” Sloane said. “Roman, I’m only paying bail money for Logan, Patton, and Virgil. Protect them.”

Roman nodded, looking considerably more afraid. The four got up and made their way towards the door, only to be stopped by Sloane and Corbin giving them goodbye hugs. Logan rolled his eyes, but he couldn’t blame his parents for wanting to hug him one last time. He was amazed they were even letting him go on what could potentially be a death mission. Usually, they were about twelve times more protective. 

Silence hung over the group as they made their way through the city. Some people were inside their homes, eating dinner, but others were still out and about. They stuck mostly to back alleys, since there was no way they wouldn’t turn a few heads. Four teenagers really tense, walking with purpose, and not talking to each other would raise anyone’s suspicions. The city grew darker as the four approached the castle gates. 

Virgil focused on the bushes and vines that crept into the walls around the palace. They began to shake, and a few twigs snapped. The guards didn’t notice, so Virgil continued her efforts. Realizing it wasn’t working, she pushed a brick out of the wall, making parts of the wall crumble. It was loud enough to get their attention, and both rushed over. Moving as fast as they could without drawing attention, the four slipped past the gates and approached the castle. 

For the privacy of the nobility, trees are planted all around the castle just tightly enough that the lower levels of the castle are obscured from view, but wide enough that you could comfortably spread a picnic blanket between trees. There are less trees close to the gate, and they become denser as one approaches the castle. Roman was grateful for this, since there was no way there wouldn’t be any changes of plan between the bookstore and the castle doors, and everyone needed to be on the same page. 

When the group was out of the guards’ range, everyone relaxed. Their paces slowed from frantic to casual. “We can talk now,” Roman said. 

“I don’t know if I can pull off the spell,” Virgil said, “It was hard for me to move the brick under pressure, I can’t imagine doing a level 28 spell when the fate of the whole country rests on my shoulders.” Her face was slightly pink, and her hands were shaking. 

“You can do it,” Patton said, “I believe in you. Plus, we’ll all be protecting you while you do the spell. You’ve progressed so quickly in such a short span of time, it won’t be stretching your abilities much more than you’re already used to.”

Logan looked up ahead. “Stop talking. There’s a guard right there, at the door.” Virgil swallowed her response to Patton, letting her thoughts stew. 

The guard in question looked very confused at the four approaching him. When they were about five feet from the guard, Roman stepped forward. “Ducks are commonly seen at midnight, flying into chimneys.”

“That’s last week’s. Sorry, can’t let you in. Security’s been tightened, something about top security prisoners and the solstice.” The group did not move. “Go on, shoo.”

With a glance at the other three, Roman took off their hood, leaving their face visible to the guard. They sighed, then said, “As your crown prince I command that you let us through,” fast enough that no one was quite sure what they’d said. 

“Hmm? I didn’t catch that,” the guard said. 

Looking like they’d rather be anywhere else, Roman said, “As your crown prince, I command that you let us into the castle.”

The guard recognized them.“Oh! Yes, of course, my prince. Step right through. I’m sorry I held you up, I had no idea that it was the prince that was coming, and…” The guard rattled off excuses, while Roman led the group through the door, not even giving him a second glance. 

“Thank you!” Patton said. 

“I wish I didn’t have to do that,” Roman said, walking faster, “If he’s a guard who just wants to go home, he won’t tell anyone. But there’s a high chance, with me missing, that he’ll tell any member of the palace staff that stops by that the prince came through. Virgil, forget freezing spells. We need to move.”

Roman led the group at a pace that was almost running, not caring to speak to anyone as they pounded through the castle hallways. Logan gave Patton and Virgil instructions on where to turn, and they managed to keep pace with the prince. Rare electric lights passed in a blur as the labyrinth of stairs and hallways led them deep into the castle. 

Legs aching, they stood before the entrance to the dungeon. The metal door had a large chain and padlock holding it closed. No guards were stationed anywhere near it. Virgil raised up a hand to break the chain, but hesitated. 

“C’mon Virgil, this trick’s an old hat for you by now,” Logan said. “You broke the spines of every gross romance novel people donated at the book drive. You can do this.”

Virgil laughed a little at the memory, then pointed both her hands at the door. A link of the chain broke, and she moved the fallen chain and lock away like they were made of helium. She started to open the doors, but felt Roman’s hand on her wrist. 

“Let’s not make a huge entrance, ok? We are fugitives,” they said. 

Patton opened the doors, and they all walked in, feeling more confident in themselves. The difficult part for most of them was done, and Virgil’s faith in her sorcery abilities was renewed. 

The confidence melted away when they took in how many guards were stationed at the entranceway to the first level of the dungeons. 

Roman eyed the entrance to the shortcut. The entranceway had been made for people waiting to see prisoners. A secret stairwell was installed for prisoners to take when they had visitors, since no one wanted inmates having contact with each other at all. Many a breakout had been planned by inmates in different floors passing notes when one was taken up to see a visitor, so the castle had decided it was easier to install a secret staircase than get tighter bars for the cells. 

Four guards stood between them and the lamp that concealed the secret lever. One switch, and the young adventurers would be in the stairwell before anyone could blink. Unfortunately, eight eyes were already fixed on Roman. 

The guard nearest to Roman drew his gun. “We’re under direct orders from the king to apprehend you using any forces necessary and take you to your quarters. Come quietly and it will all be over.” Roman didn’t know this guard, and he’d been pretty clear that they were not friends. So much for talking their way out of this. 

“Never. I’ve got better things to do.” They scanned the room for a potential path to the lamp, then noticed where the other three guard’s guns were pointed. Directly at his friends. 

Come to think of it, these weren’t guards. They were soldiers. King’s Men. Roman turned to Virgil, who was right at their side. Her hands were poised to cast a spell at the slightest provocation. “Can you cast a shield that only I can get out of?”they asked in an undertone, “The soldiers can’t touch me in case they harm me, no matter what they say. If you all are safe behind the shield, I can go to the secret passage and open it for you. Then, make your way over keeping the shield between you and them. Got it?”

Nervous but determined, Virgil nodded. She focused, and with effort, a glistening wall began to form between her, Logan, and Patton. 

“Come, prince. Rejoin the elite, where you belong.”

Roman’s blood boiled, but a lump also rose in their throat. They knew what that elite planned to do in the name of their country, and they didn’t want to be a bystander any longer. Hopefully, they wouldn’t become the instigator. Virgil’s shield solidified, becoming opaque. Roman ran. 

The lamp, when only pulled halfway, would only open halfway. The prince gave it a jerk, and the nearly invisible section of floor rotated, taking them with it. Roman hit the wall, then walked over to the half-open entrance. 

They let loose an expletive that was incredibly inappropriate for a prince-well, anybody to say. The soldiers in the entranceway and those crowded in the secret passage glared. Roman resisted the urge to curse again. 

Patton, Logan, and Virgil all looked terrified. Looking from them to the soldiers, Roman knew what they had to do. 

“I surrender.” They kneeled on the floor before the soldiers attacking their friends, arms raised for handcuffs. A pang shot through Roman’s heart as the cold metal clasped their wrists. Their friends looked confused, curious, and worried, but above all, afraid. This was the part of tonight that wasn’t in anyone’s plans but Roman’s. 

“May I be permitted one request?”the prince asked. They weren’t very experienced in groveling, but there’s a first time for everything. Though when Roman had thought about their “first time,” this was not what they had in mind. A soldier nodded. 

“I need to speak with my father, privately. And I need my friends kept safe in the meantime, preferably in my quarters.” Roman bowed their head, trying to show respect. 

Virgil looked at them, her eyes practically screaming, What are you doing? Why do we need to be kept safe while you talk with the King?

Trust me, Roman tried to say with a glance, but they didn’t have very much conviction. Virgil’s shield lowered. 

“We can arrange that. I’ll take you to the king, and your”-the guard glared at the three friends-“acquaintances can come with you.” With a few curt words to the four soldiers closest to him, Virgil, Logan, and Patton were taken to the prince’s rooms. Two soldiers flanked Roman, taking them towards the throne room. 

Heart breaking in two, Roman watched their friends being taken away. Each of them had a soldier that was more or less physically forcing them towards Roman’s rooms. It hurt to see their friends more or less hauled along by guards. That was Roman’s fault, and they couldn’t help but feel guilty. They could only hope that their friends stayed comfortable while Roman did...this. 

While Roman knew that the soldiers couldn’t touch them without their permission, they were still jittery. Sure, there was a chance they would convince the king to step down from the throne, and carefully word everything so that they had what was basically full control of the country, but there would be big sacrifices to make, as the king was who he was. The presence of two public displays of the king’s power did not calm their nerves at all.


	16. Fight Your Own Battles

As they were escorted towards the king, Roman reviewed the plan in their head, over and over. So much of the future depended on every interaction between Roman and the king, and Roman needed to make sure that their mental game was impeccable. This battle of wits couldn’t be lost.

“Your Majesty the King, Prince Roman Theularus is here to see you,” the soldier announced, opening the ornate doors to the room. Roman could feel their heartbeat escalating underneath their scarf. They walked towards the throne, and bowed. Ugh, showing respect, they thought. Flattery was essential for this, but that didn’t mean it was fun. 

“I am here today to”-Roman swallowed-“reconsider your proposal to become king. Throughout the process of my journey, I have realized that your offer was a good one, and I was a fool to turn it down.” It was groveling time, also known as time for bold-faced lies. 

“So you will take the throne?” the king asked, rightfully skeptical of Roman’s change of attitude. 

“Yes, of course. But I would like to collaborate with you for this transfer of power. You see, my constant defiance of you in the past was...unwise. With some distance, I was able to reflect and realize that we have a lot in common. Our goals aren’t as far apart as they may seem, and I will greatly appreciate the opportunity to have you mentoring me while I move into this next stage of the kingdom and my life,” Roman said, watching his father’s reaction. 

Surprised. From the slight raise of his eyebrows, the king was surprised, and hiding it particularly well. “Well, Roman, I’m glad to see that you’ve come around some. I’ve always seen some of myself in you, in your ferocity and fire. But I’m not quite certain you align with the same values as I do. If I leave the throne, will you keep the laws I have passed over the years?”

Here was the hardest lie to tell, because there wasn’t a single element of the truth in it. “Yes. I understand that your laws were put into place with the hope of benefiting the economy and the people, while aiding the power of the crown. I promise to rule with your values in mind, not just mine.”

“It feels so good for me to finally hear that,” King Epos said, “For years, I thought that you and I would always be on opposite sides, and I’m grateful that I can stand next to my son and watch him become a great ruler of Straith.” Epos’s eyes were watery, and he didn’t notice Roman’s slight twitch, the way his “son” had pinched the hem of their cloak. 

“So, will you retire and allow me to take the throne? After all your work for Straith, you deserve a quiet, peaceful vacation. The country will be safe in my hands.” Roman paused, and made eye contact, heart hammering in their chest. 

“You promise to uphold my legacy?”

“Yes, of course.”

A smile broke out on the king’s face, odd because of its presence. Roman didn’t think they’d ever seen their father smile before. “I knew you’d come around. We’re similar, two Straith men who really know how to run a country. I should coronate you tonight.” The prince tried to look like every word their father said wasn’t a bullet to the heart. 

“Perhaps you should. The sooner the retirement starts, the better. I heard there’s some nice places on the coast, around Weavington. We could have a carriage ready in an hour.”

“That’s a wonderful thought, but perhaps that should wait until the morning. I doubt anyone in Archdale is awake. But for now, in this castle you shall be treated as king, to give you a taste of leadership. Tomorrow, you’ll have much more to manage. I’m so glad that the tutors have finally paid off,” the king said, wistful. 

Great, he was on about the tutors again. “May I be excused to tell my friends?” Roman asked. The air was becoming suffocating, and they could almost feel the clock counting down to death for everyone. 

Patton had visited the orphans earlier this week, and he had said they were all sick. Roman hoped it wasn’t too late for them. 

“You are king! There is no need for you to ask my permission. Go,” Epos said, gesturing grandly. 

Roman turned around and walked out of there as fast as possible. They marched towards their friends, determined to not let them wonder for another second. As the prince walked out, they heard the king addressing some poor servant, telling them to let every staff member in the palace know about Roman’s future. 

Going down the stairs meant that it wouldn’t seem out of the ordinary for Roman’s feet to slam rather than step on the floor. What had they gotten themself into? It was inevitable that their friends would be at least a little pissed at them, but Roman hoped they would understand. 

The doors to Roman’s room were covered in the same ornate carvings as they’d always been, but they didn’t offer the reassurance of home. They would be moving into the king’s suite in the next week, and the relative safe space of the rooms would be gone. From now on, they would be living like their father, and possibly just as he had. 

The prince inhaled and pushed the doors open. Their friends weren’t in the front room, but Roman found them in the bedroom. Virgil was sprawled across Roman’s bed, face down. Logan and Patton were talking on the side. Roman’s heart dropped. Now was the time. 

Their friends noticed Roman come into the room, but they regarded them in silence. Virgil didn’t even look up for more than a second. Logan and Patton went quiet. 

“I really owe you all an explanation,” Roman said, giving a small laugh from nerves. “So, I may have become the...king of Straith. I talked to my father, and, well, I convinced him to let me take the throne sometime next week. It wasn’t a backup plan I wanted to use, but I couldn’t let everyone die.”

Roman paused, emotions flooding them like a dam had burst somewhere inside their brain. “I said a lot of things I didn’t mean in that conversation, and I’m going to try and do, the, ah, opposite as soon as he’s far enough gone to not take back the throne. What matters, is that he gave me full jurisdiction as king within the castle. Something about trial period of leadership blah blah. I hope you guys will stay with me during this, but you certainly don’t have to. Point is, we can break the Dragon Witch out of prison. We can stop the prophecy.”

Virgil rolled over and sat up. “You should have started with that, I thought you came in here to deliver the news that nothing could be done and we were all going to die. Let’s go.”

“Uh, yeah,” Logan said. “Let’s go.”

“Save the country and all that,” Patton said, standing up. Logan stood up as well. 

The group made their way down to the dungeons, at a much slower pace than last time. Servants and guards waved to them, a few congratulating Roman about becoming king. Their pulse rabbitted more and more as they walked past people. This had to work. 

After reaching the entranceway, Logan asked, “Can you show us the secret passageway now? Castle architecture is always fascinating, especially when it’s as old as this one.”

Bless Logan. Still as curious and intellectual as always. At least life still had constants. “Sure,” Roman said. Also, they would bypass more guards this way. The word that Roman was to be treated as king couldn’t have possibly spread to everyone in the oh, thirty minutes since the actual king had shared his proclamation. 

Roman had them all stand on the platform, then pulled the lever all the way this time. Patton gave a small “Woo!” as they spun around into the small staircase. After clambering down two flights of stairs, the group walked through two more levels of the prison, talking with guards as they went down. The tension eased from Roman’s shoulders. So they did know. The guards were happier than usual, perhaps because the future king was the topic of gossip all around the castle. They were friendly to the other three as well, Virgil enjoyed the anomaly of being the target of positive attention, rather than negative. 

The air in the dungeons was icy as the four made their way past cells holding convicts of the very worst crimes to the Dragon Witch’s cell. Roman exchanged a few words with the guard, and the cell doors opened.


	17. Connections and Coronations

A woman stepped out of the cell. She stood slightly shorter than the teenagers, matted dirty blond hair framing an ageless face. Without shackles, small strands of magical energy had begun to swirl around her. Her eyes locked with Virgil’s. 

“What year is it? It’s been so long, everything blurs together,” the Dragon Witch said, lightly shaking her head. 

“1265. It’s been a full century,” Logan said, fidgeting with the hem of his cloak. 

Confused, the Dragon Witch looked from one face to the next. “We stopped the curse,” Patton explained. He paused. “Are you alright? Should we get the castle doctor?”

Still looking timid, the woman said, “I’m fine. Just shaken. Now, tell me everything. I need to know how you stopped the curse.”

Virgil began, telling about the prophecy passed down to her through generations. She explained giving the note to Logan, and then deciding to take Roman’s help in her quest. Logan interjected to talk about research with Patton, and together the two told the story up to where the four met. 

Roman covered their journey, including their coming out, up until the four had returned to Food for the Mind to teach Virgil about sorcery. 

“...and, although we didn’t know it, Roman had a backup plan. They were going to become king and use that power to get you out of prison, and they did. I couldn’t stop the curse with my spell. Well, not king quite yet. The coronation will be sometime next week, but for now they’re treated as king within the castle. That’s how we’re breaking you out,” Virgil explained the rest, the hurt showing in her voice as she paused in between sentences. 

“So, Virgil, you are a dark sorcerer? And, Logan, you help run the bookstore, correct? My brain is a little rusty, but I can infer that much.”

“Yeah,” Virgil said, “How do you know?” 

“I cast the spell that brought you all here. The young ruler is ‘one of yours,’ or the old king’s, that much is clear.” She pointed at Roman, then turned to Logan. “That one is ‘one of knowledge.’ He talks like he reads”

She looked at Virgil. “One of fear. Dark sorcerers are often far too familiar with the world’s evils.” The Dragon Witch pointed to Patton. “‘One of loss.’ You’re all here. I did not expect you all to be so young, but hope is often stronger with children. You’ve gone through so very much, but I’m glad you managed to stop my spell. Revenge on my stepfather is not worth a kingdom, and I hope to never make that mistake again. I am indebted to you all, for fixing the worst mistake I’ve ever made.”

“Of course,” Patton said, “Everyone makes mistakes.” He looked at Roman for a fraction of a second. “Even when they’re well-intentioned.” He still couldn’t believe that the prince hadn’t come to him about the backup plan, and the wound was fresh. 

“Yeah, and I think this...helped me in a way. I know that I’m capable of a lot more,” Logan said. 

Virgil hesitated before saying, “I never would have known about my powers if not for the spell.”

“You taught me about diligence and duty. Uh, we should go somewhere more comfortable, I think we’ve got a lot of questions for you. I do at least.”

Everyone agreed, so the group left the prison, and Roman showed everyone to an empty guest room. Like a ghost, the sorcerer trailed the four. When they arrived at an empty one, Roman motioned for the guards to wait at the door, then went inside. 

Logan looked like the person most curious about the Dragon Witch and her situation, so once they’d all sat down on a small couch, Roman said, “You first, Logan. You’ve probably got the best questions.”

“How does this work? Like, you being imprisoned for a century yet still alive and with your powers. Is it a part of the final incantation thing or Solus stone, or is it just a sorcerer thing?” Logan asked, the wheels in his mind already turning. 

“A combination of sorts. The Solus stone”-she motioned with her hands-“binds a sorcerer’s power to it. The power is intricately connected to the sorcerer, so I would have to die in order to take my power out of this world completely. Usually, sorcerers die as an unmagical person would, sometimes earlier. Having power is like holding fire;unless properly handled, it burns you. I should have died many years ago, but my power remained connected to the stone. I could not move on. As a matter of fact, it even grew despite the stone around it, as a condition of my final incantation. 

“The final incantation a sorcerer makes must always complete its course while the sorcerer is still alive. Otherwise, the magic will not be there to carry out the spell. As I’m sure our young sorcerer knows, the art of sorcery is heavily connected to emotions. When someone is dead, their emotions die with them. Therefore, no power. Since my final incantation has not passed, interesting things happen. I will be as I was before I made the spell, without altering the laws of space and time, but I will not be able to make a final incantation ever again. Final incantations are a tricky type of magic. I didn’t expect mine to work, yet here you all stand.” She sighed, then continued looking down at her hands.

Logan sat bolt upright, with an expression of realization clear across his face. “Wait...did the magic affect the four of us?”

The Dragon Witch took a deep breath. “Yes. While all of you are extremely compassionate and likely would have sought to end the curse if it was not foretold, my magic sped the process along a little. You may have felt compelled to do things you wouldn’t otherwise. Take risks more dangerous than ever before. The burning desire to go on this journey. Does this sound familiar?” she asked, looking from face to face. 

They all nodded. Patton knew he never would have left the orphanage for as long as he had if not for the spell. Logan was usually more an observer than a participant, and questing was not his forte. It had taken a lot of courage for Virgil to try and end the prophecy on her own, but she knew the courage wasn’t entirely her own. Roman recalled the strong pull to adventure they’d felt, and how they’d packed for any eventuality on that first day despite there being a very slim chance of them traveling outside of Archdale. 

“If you’re going to be just as you were before the final incantation, does that mean you can stay around and maybe...teach me?” Virgil asked, a flicker of hope in her eyes. If the Dragon Witch could create such powerful sorcery, perhaps she could pass that on to Virgil.

“Yes, I’d be happy to. And with the permission of our king, I would like to implement a program to recruit people with sorcery abilities and perhaps use their powers to help the people of Straith. Virgil could be one of the first to join the program, to serve as a protector of the kingdom.”

“That sounds excellent,” Roman said, “I’d be happy to help change the reputation sorcery has throughout our society and do some good after my father gets out of Straith. Virgil, are you interested?”

“Yeah. I want to help people keep the worst at bay,” Virgil said, a small smile beginning on her face. 

“Speaking of Virgil, how did you know about the spell?”the Dragon Witch asked, fixing her gaze on Virgil.

“It’s like a family legacy or something? The transcript with the spell on it is basically an heirloom, and my parents have all sorts of books on sorcery, the Dragon Witch, and whatnot. They’re really superstitious, I guess. I didn’t even think the curse was real until about a month ago,” Virgil said, looking mostly at the floor. Her family legacy sounded a lot sillier in front of the Dragon Witch. 

For the first time in decades, the Dragon Witch smiled. “So my husband did raise the child. I told him to pass on my legacy, and it appears he did. You must be something like my great-great granddaughter.”

“Yeah, which is really weird. Did I inherit my powers from you?” Virgil asked. 

“Probably, it tends to run in families. I have no idea. I’ve been in a cell for a hundred years, you are all going to have to catch me up on current events. Hopefully nothing too drastic changed in the city.”

Logan and Roman exchanged a look. That was going to be difficult. “What level sorcerer are you?” Patton asked. He had to know how good the famed Dragon Witch actually was. 

“48,” Logan and the Dragon Witch said.

The Dragon Witch squinted at Logan. “You must be especially sensitive to magic. Perhaps you could join Virgil and I in helping the kingdom?”

“I’m definitely interested, but I have to help my dads with the bookstore until they can find someone permanently. I can stop by on afternoons,” Logan said. He looked up at the wall clock. “Speaking of which, I should probably go home before they freak out. Anyone want to stay over another night?”

Roman and Virgil both decided to stay in the palace with the Dragon Witch, but Patton came back with Logan. The two boys made a quick stop at the orphanage to say hello, then went home to Food for the Mind. 

“I hope Roman can do something about the conditions at orphanages,” Patton said to Logan, the sadness about the children returning to his eyes that Logan used to see that every day. 

Patton and Logan had hoped to avoid Sloane and Corbin on their way back since they were too tired to be questioned about everything that had happened that night. The stars had long since come out and all Logan could think about was collapsing onto his bed and sleeping for a month. Logan’s parents were waiting right by the door to the bookstore, but fortunately they didn’t ask too many questions. After ensuring that the whole group was safe, they let Logan and Patton go off to bed. 

But not without the last word. “No hijinks, you two,” Sloane yelled from the bookstore as Logan and Patton made their way up the stairs. Logan apologized for his parents again, but both him and Patton were blushing.

Neither of them could fall asleep easily that night. 

 

Roman put Virgil and the Dragon Witch in two of the best guest rooms. They made sure both were comfortable and that Virgil was alright after today’s events. 

Before going up to their chambers, Roman popped into the Dragon Witch’s room for a bit to ask one question. 

“What’s your real name? Like, other than Dragon Witch, since I really don’t want to call you that in official declarations and such,” Roman asked. They’d been curious about it ever since Virgil told them about the backstory of the curse. 

“Rafaela. Rafaela Theularus. Now, go to sleep. A child your age should not stay up this late, king or no.” was her answer. She was right. 

They left with more questions than before but decided to sleep on them. Tomorrow was going to be one hell of a day. 

Epos was really excited for his vacation, so he had Roman coronated as soon as possible. “Don’t contact me for at least a month, you can do this on your own,” he said immediately after sending out the couriers. 

At about midday, Roman was coronated. It was a huge procession of pomp and circumstance, one that Roman tried to just suffer through. The sun was making the twelve or so layers of ceremonial clothes even more uncomfortable. They said the vows and listened to whoever the person was officiating this thing droning on about the responsibilities of a king and how the new king would bring forth a time of...yeah, Roman was already spiritually asleep. It didn’t help that they’d been misgendered countless times during this whole thing. Some things don’t change, but some do. 

It couldn’t be over fast enough. Roman said their final farewell to the audience and walked into their rooms immediately. There was work to be done to take down the system that had put a crown on their head. 

Virgil, Logan, Patton, and Rafaela were all sitting on a couch, talking about sorcery and the program to use it for good. At least, that’s what Roman could tell from the book Virgil was holding and the papers spread across their legs. 

“There’s a perfectly good table right over there, you know,” Roman said, squeezing in next to the four on the couch. 

Virgil laughed. “Yeah, but this is a thousand times comfier. Also, we just came back from a certain king’s coronation and wanted to rest our legs and our butts. That thing took forever.”

“Hopefully our kingdom won’t have a coronation ever again,” Logan said, “I worked with Patton and my parents to come up with a pretty good system for democracy. We should probably wait a few months before putting the idea out to the public, though, or there’ll be riots. Speaking of which, Roman, you should probably make sure that absolutely no one can come into the castle. A lot of people liked Epos, and they will want your head on a silver platter when you start to go against his views.”

“I’ll uh, do that,” Roman replied. “And how’s the sorcery program planning going?”

“Good. We have figured out a quick and easy way to detect magical powers in people without pressing them to use their powers. The first thing our program will do is test for magic in as many people as possible, to provide more jobs.” She turned to Patton. “Do people still need jobs?”

“Yeah.” Patton snorted. “People pretty much always need jobs.”

They continued working, the conversation more interesting with the Dragon Witch there. It was like talking to a time-traveler, she had no idea about anything new or modern. Logan couldn’t make it through explaining why Archdale had so many large buildings without cracking up. 

However, Roman wasn’t the only one curious about the Dragon Witch’s real name. It was extremely awkward to address her as such, especially for Patton. He was used to talking to adults as politely as possible, and there was really no way to politely address the Dragon Witch without it being a little hilarious. 

“So, what’s your real name?” Logan asked, “I can’t imagine parents who thought naming their kid ‘Dragon Witch’ was a good idea.”

“My real name is Rafaela. Rafaela Theularus,”the Dragon Witch said, not looking up from her papers. 

“How come you have the same last name as Roman?” Patton asked. Roman leaned forward a little, anticipating her answer. They’d been thinking about that ever since Rafaela told them her name last night. 

Rafaela chortled. “Well, you see, it’s a complicated tale of politics. My mom had me with her first husband, who was another lord. Then, when he died of plague, the king asked for her hand in marriage. She agreed, and so her and I both took the king’s last name. Does that ever happen nowadays? With first and second marriages between nobility-especially the lords?”

“We stopped feudalism about fifty years ago,” Logan said. “Now there’s just the king and his cabinet.”

“So you’re technically...a princess?” Virgil half-asked. 

“Yes, which really annoyed the king when I decided to put my powers to good use. I lived much closer to the lives of the common people than he ever did, and when I fully realized my powers, I could think of nothing better to do than use them to help people.”

“That’s really brave,” Patton said, “Learning to use your powers in secret and then using them to help even though it put you in danger.”

“In secret? Oh no, Mother made sure I had tutors,” Rafaela said, eyes widening at Patton’s remark. 

Something clicked in Roman’s head. They got up from the couch, sending papers flying. Running over to the bookshelves, Roman took a book out from the top shelf and started leafing through it. 

“Could you not? I’m trying to figure something out here,” Logan complained. 

“Sorry, Logan. I just realized something.” They read aloud from the book. “‘In 1166, shortly after the disappearance of crown princess Rafaela, the king abolished all use and knowledge of magic and demanded violators be put to death. While other kings were more lenient on matters of sorcery, the prejudice and hatred against it continues to this day.’ See, the reason no one ever talks about magic-”

“-except my parents,” Logan interjected.

“-except Logan and Virgil’s parents, is because of Rafaela, and maybe her curse.” Roman closed the book with a slam. 

“That explains why I was locked in prison,” Rafaela said, “the king must have wanted the most powerful sorcerer out of the way and unable to educate anyone.” Tears started to form in her eyes.

“What’s wrong?” Patton asked. 

“It’s just that everyone I knew is dead, not the happiest thought in the world,” Rafaela said, wiping her eyes. “Perhaps we should get back to the program and democracy. This is all so very new.”

“Ok,” Logan said, slightly confused. “Maybe you can read some history books so you can know about what happened before someone has to break the news to you?”

“I’ll do that. Roman, you won’t mind if I use the sitting room?”

“Not at all. It’s not like anyone else is,” Roman said, picking up the papers they’d knocked to the ground.

They worked with their friends on the program, laughing along with their jokes. Despite the weight of a crown on their head, Roman felt lighter than ever before. Friends like these were the hardest to come by, and they’d been just lucky enough.


	18. Virgil And The Dragon

It had been a month or so since the craziness of Roman’s coronation and the prophecy, and Virgil was quite enjoying learning sorcery under Rafaela’s tutelage. She’d never liked school, but without immense pressure and teachers who didn’t care about her, getting an education was alright. After Roman heard that her, Patton, and Logan had stopped going to school after they were 14, they’d all but shoved tutors at them. The tutors were nice, and good at what they did. 

Virgil felt so much lighter without the pressure of her family, or the country. One of the first things she’d done after Roman’s coronation was get her parents enough money to live comfortably. They’d never have to worry about getting kicked out of their house again. While she would have liked to live at home, Virgil’s duty to the kingdom was at the castle, along with her friends. She was a true protector of the country now, Roman even had uniforms for the newly founded Sorcery Department made that strongly resembled some of the outfits in Virgil’s “dream wardrobe.” The small accents of armor were nice, and Virgil felt very at home in the purple. 

So far the quest to find other sorcerers was going pretty well. Many people had been recruited, thanks to Patton and Logan’s tireless efforts with advertising. They’d set up a stand at the market where people could stop by and be tested, which had gotten them the most of the program. Rafaela did go out into the streets and the poorer neighborhoods about once a week to test people for sorcery and recruit them. Currently, there were almost two hundred people working with Rafaela and Virgil to use sorcery for the good of the country. 

The highlight of this strange King Roman era was when Rafaela decided that Virgil needed a familiar to make her spells even better. At first, Virgil had wondered what a familiar was and why she would need one. She remembered the instance fondly. They’d been in the mountains, on an expedition to recruit more people to the program. 

“You don’t know?” Rafaela’s eyes went wide with shock. “My goodness I thought you knew a good deal about sorcery, though I do suppose much of the knowledge on them was understood, and not really recorded. A familiar is an animal, usually magical, that works with you to amplify your powers and help you. Usually, they learn a little magic of their own,”she said. 

“Cool. Do I need one?” Virgil asked, curious. The woods where they were collecting ingredients for spells was relaxing, and she wondered if there were any magical animals here. 

Rafaela picked a few small yellow flowers.“No one needs a familiar, but I think your sorcery would benefit from it. As dark sorcerers, we tend to get wrapped up in our negative emotions. Having someone by our side that understands and can comfort us is useful. The same is true for light sorcerers, of course, but negativity sticks with people more. We benefit more from familiars, especially ones that are dark like us.”

“Oh. What are dark familiars?” Virgil asked. Did they only come out at night? 

“Cats, dragons, geese, and raccoons are the common ones, but there are many more. I knew someone who had a parrot for a dark familiar. Any of those sound good to you?”

“Maybe a dragon would be neat. Are there any dragons still around?” So perhaps there were familiars in the area. 

“Yes, but they hide. I don’t think anyone’s found one in quite a while, but you could try. There is a spell for it,” Rafaela said, “Do you want me to show you?”

“Yeah, I think a familiar would be helpful,” Virgil said, “What do I do?”

The Dragon Witch sat down on a log. “Sit next to me, and listen very closely to what I say. This is an incredibly emotional spell, since you are creating a lifelong bond.”

Virgil sat. “Now, close your eyes and focus on the forest. The scents, the sounds, the air. All of it. Take it in,” Rafaela said. Virgil did as her teacher said, relaxing as she took all of it in.

“This is the tricky part. Focus in on your emotions, and how they’re connected to your sorcery. Think about your need for companionship, understanding, and collaboration with another being. Focus on that ache in your soul.”

The cynical part of Virgil’s brain was telling her that this was hogwash, but she connected to the spell Rafaela was describing on a deeper, more emotional level. In her mind, she dived into that part of her soul so deeply that she was nearly overcome by emotion. Faces flashed inside her closed eyelids, and Virgil reached out with her sorcery to control them, trying to direct the strong feelings somewhere else. The ground beneath the log began to shake. 

“Good, now reach that energy out into the woods. Connect your feelings to the world of nature around you, and cast out that hope, that need with your power.” Virgil did so, feeling the calm of the woods return to her as she pushed her sorcery out into her surroundings. The feelings were there, but they felt more managed, more taken care of. The usual loudness and harshness of her mind were softer. 

Something collided with Virgil’s chest at a very high speed. Her eyes opened in shock to find a purple, cat-sized scaly animal trying to wrap two appendages around her. 

Only when she could feel the warmth of fire from the animal’s snout did Virgil realize-her familiar was a dragon.

 

“The Dragon Witch’s student’s familiar is a dragon!” Rafaela bent over laughing. Virgil was too busy enjoying how the dragon had cuddled up against her face to complain. To be fair, it was adorable. Purple scales shimmered, some pinkish. Occasionally, they changed to become transparent. The dragon had wide magenta eyes that took in Virgil curiously, its pupils widening in excitement. Small black spikes ran from the dragon’s head to its tail, and they were somewhat soft when Virgil touched them. Its tiny wings hugged her shoulder. 

“Getting on well with your familiar, I see,” Rafaela said, peering down at her student. “Shall we go back into town and test some people for magic?”

“Sure,” Virgil said, picking up her dragon by the belly as she stood up. “What should I name it?”

“Whatever you want.”

Now, as Virgil scratched Laurus’s head during one of Roman’s long speeches, she thought about how much she’d changed. Specifically how much happier she was now. Virgil had friends. She had a purpose in life beyond working to pay bills. She had her dragon Laurus, and sorcery to get her negative expressions out of her life. Her parents were happy with her.

Overall, she didn’t think the curse had been the worst thing to ever happen to her.

Unless it had happened, the fearful voice in her head said, ominous as ever. 

But it hadn’t, and that was what mattered.


	19. Feelings Are Highly Illogical

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi! if you'd prefer to read this fic as just a gen fic, with no romance, know that these next two chapters are the only chapters containing romance in the story. the story totally doesn't have to exist past the last chapter if you want, and (for my tumblr followers), i'll be tagging these chapters and any posts about them with #noromo. not everyone wants their stories to have romance, and that's a-ok!

Unfortunately, little Laurus could not go everywhere with Virgil. The dragon was still young and curious, so he tended to get caught up in trouble when she was travelling. So, when Virgil had to go on a trip to the coast of Straith, she decided to have the two friends she trusted most with him babysit the dragon. 

She dropped by Food for the Mind the day before the trip around noon, and was happy to find that Logan and Patton were both there. They were both behind the counter, talking about something. Virgil pretended not to notice that they were both basically sitting on top of each other instead of in their separate chairs. While they were usually in each others space, this was certainly new. 

“Hey, how are things going here?” Virgil asked the two. 

Patton and Logan immediately repositioned themselves so that they were no longer sharing the same personal space bubble. “Uh, good,” Logan said, “Do you need any more of my dad’s books?” 

“No, I was just wondering if you guys could babysit Laurus while I’m away. He doesn’t do too well with the train, and I don’t want to risk him setting things on fire. Roman’s busy with banning Epos from Straith and all that jazz, and I figured you two would be responsible enough to handle him for a bit. I’m only gone a week,” Virgil said. 

“Sure! I’d be happy to take him off your hands,” Patton said, giving a slightly forced smile. 

“Yeah. Good idea. I’ll totally do that,” Logan said. 

“Sweet, I’ll drop him off tomorrow morning with his food and instructions for exercise, sleep, and whatnot.” Virgil had a gut feeling she was intruding on something, so she left the two as quickly as possible. 

As soon as the door shut behind Virgil, Logan turned back to Patton. “So, what was it you were saying?”

The next morning, Patton and Logan both woke up to their alarms to go and start things at the bookstore. While Sloane and Corbin were back, they were busy trying to get publishers to print sorcery texts so that they were available for the general public, and working to open up another location of Food for the Mind. This left running the store to Logan and Patton. 

Patton was living with the Gaines for a while, at least until he could move out on his own. Almost immediately after Roman was coronated, they passed a mountain of legislature on orphanages and adoption, and made sure they were heavily enforced. Patton was incredibly grateful, as this meant that he knew that the kids were in safe hands, but hadn’t known what to do with himself. Logan had suggested that he stay at the bookstore, and so Patton did. He still visited the orphanage almost every day.

Virgil surprised both of them by already being there. She was waiting outside the glass doors with a sleeping Laurus draped around her shoulders, holding an assortment of strange items that could only be for the dragon. Patton let her in, although he was confused as to why she was there so early. 

“Logan, Virgil’s here!” Patton yelled at the back of the bookstore. He turned back to Virgil. “So, are you excited about the trip?”

“Yeah,” she said, “I’ve never been there before, and I’m looking forward to getting some beach time. Maybe get a tan, collect some seashells. I’m gonna miss Laurus though.” Virgil patted the dragon’s head. “But he’ll be in good hands.”

“We’ll do our best,” Logan said, walking into the room. “Thanks for showing up early, Virgil. I’d prefer to learn how to take care of the fire-breathing dragon before there are any customers in the store. Speaking of which, you said there were instructions for caring for Laurus?”

“Uh, yeah. This covers most of his daily habits and what to do in case of emergencies. Also, I brought some fireproof tarp so you can give him a place to set things on fire safely,” Virgil said, handing Logan a small booklet. 

“What does he eat?” Patton asked, looking over Logan’s shoulder to look at the booklet. He was edging a little more than necessary into Logan’s personal space, but fortunately the bookworm didn’t seem to notice or care. 

“He’s supposed to eat small animals he catches himself, to hone his predator instincts or whatever, but you can basically give him really rare meat and he’s good. I usually take him to some sort of forested area and let him just have at the wildlife once a day, but I get it if you guys are too busy to do that,” Virgil said, “And here’s his whistle, he’ll come as soon as he hears it. Don’t use it too much, or he’ll just start to ignore it.”

“Ok,” Logan said, nodding absentmindedly as he read through the booklet. “Sounds good. He sleeps at night, correct?”

“Yeah, but he sometimes has to get up and go to the bathroom. You guys don’t mind if I grow some grass inside your house, right?” Virgil asked, “Maybe in the alley? He’s potty trained, but only for magical grass. It’s a bit of an issue, but I think it has something to do with my connection to him. The grass does...take care of the waste, as you’ll be glad to hear.”

“That’s good!” Patton said. “Uh, is there anything else we need to know that isn’t in the booklet? We really need to do some displays and get new books in, and we’ve only got an hour until opening.”

“Oh yeah, that,” Logan said, closing the booklet and looking at Virgil, giving her his full attention.

“Not really, just let me know where to put the grass, and where I can put his things,” Viril said. “How about Logan can set up the books, and Patton can help me with Laurus?”

“Sure,” Patton said, looking to Logan for his answer. 

Logan handed him the booklet. “I think I can manage the display on my own. Virgil, you can put the stuff for Laurus in the living room upstairs, including the grass.”

“Ok,” Patton said. They went upstairs, and Virgil started setting up all of the dragon’s things. Patton helped her, moving furniture and the rug around as necessary. 

“So, what’s going on with you and Logan?” Virgil asked, setting a fireproof dragon bed next to the couch. 

“Nothing really? I don’t know. We haven’t really talked about it.” Patton tried to hide his blush by setting up the fireproof tarp over the dragon bed. 

Virgil picked up two squeaky dragon toys. “You haven’t really talked about what?” She squeaked both the toys before putting them on the dragon bed. 

Patton sighed. He might as well tell her. “I maybe have a crush on him and he maybe likes me back.”

“Really? How did you come by this information?” Virgil asked, a playful smile on her face. Because it’s not very hard to figure out, she thought. She grabbed Laurus’s scale-care kit and put it on a bookshelf, out of firebreath range. For reasons she could not comprehend, that dragon hated having his scales cleaned. 

“Well, I’ve always had a tiny crush on him,” Patton said, holding his index finger and thumb about an inch apart. “I mean, he was the cute guy at the bookstore who had at least a chance of being gay. Well, he’s bi, but I didn’t really know that until last week. But then, I got to know him better when we worked together for the prophecy thing, and I started to fall. Hard. It was a bit of an issue. And…”he trailed off, staring at Laurus’s fashionably scaly water dish. “What in the seven kingdoms is this?”

“A water dish. Roman went shopping for dragon things with me, and they insisted on getting that. I have no idea why they thought it was even slightly aesthetically appealing, but because the King of Straith liked it so much, the store gave it to me for free. I’m cheap, so I didn’t buy another one. As you were saying about Logan?” 

“Well I got to know him more when all four of us were at the bookstore, because you were always off practicing sorcery and Roman kept sneaking off to work on their backup plan.” Patton punctuated the sentence with a groan, but then perked up as he thought about the next part of the story. “We talked a lot, and the more I got to know him, the more I really liked him. One night, we stayed up until two in the morning talking. So I was crushing hard and a little attached.” He took the sleeping Laurus off of Virgil’s shoulders, and put the little guy on the dragon bed. The dragon snuffled and snuggled into one of the toys. An “awwwww” escaped Patton’s mouth. 

“He’s so cute, I know. But he’s also an enormous nuisance for several reasons. I wish you and Logan luck, and not just with dragonsitting. Then what happened?” Virgil asked, putting her copy of “How To Train Your Dragon” on a bookshelf next to some philosophy books. 

“Then, when the plan fell through on the eve of the solstice, I got...emotional. I was crying, big time, and Logan kept consoling me. He was so nice, he kept telling me that it was going to be alright, Roman had a plan, he’d make sure nothing happened. And it only made me cry harder, because I was so afraid of him dying. So, my heart basically breaking into nine pieces as I said it, I said ‘I don’t want to lose you,’ which is a bit romance-novel cliche, except this wasn’t a romance novel, we were basically just friends.” Patton took a deep breath to steady himself. This was the first time he’d told anyone, and reviewing what happened was bringing back all of the emotions. Couldn’t his uterus just die already? “And he said, in this quiet little voice, ‘I don’t want to lose you either.’ So I hugged him like, full on, and we were both crying. You probably caught that part.” 

“Yeah, I did,” Virgil said, “Although I didn’t really notice what you were saying to each other. I was too busy...wallowing in my failure.” Virgil set down the harness she’d been untangling, giving her full attention to Patton. 

“We hugged, and we both started to calm down for some reason;I guess it all really set in, and I was out of tears to cry anyways. So, we go to separate from the hug, and we, uh, almost kissed,” Patton said, blushing. 

“How close?” Virgil said, “I mean, it’s your business how close you two came to kissing, but also I want to know.”

Patton rolled his eyes. He’d been kind of dying to tell someone about this, but Virgil respecting his privacy was kind of her. “Our cheeks brushed, and then we both froze for like three solid seconds because we could literally feel each other’s breath. Then we awkwardly extracted ourselves and remembered that hey, we might die. Also, as I realized later, the last thing I want is to have my first kiss in Roman’s bedroom. No offense to them, but they would never let us live it down.”

Virgil mumbled something under her breath. “So then what?”

“I said ‘Well, I sure hope we don’t die. Maybe the prophecy was fake, and this is all for nothing,’ and we started joking about it. Dark humor was basically all we had. The world was going to end. Then, Roman told everyone that they had a super secret backup plan, and now we were going to make sure the prophecy didn’t happen. So, we never really talked about it again until…”Patton gestured at the air, not wanting to hurt Virgil’s feelings.

“I walked in on you guys having a capital-S serious conversation,” Virgil supplied. “What was that conversation about anyway?”

“Well, it started with Logan being really good at recommending books, because we were talking about this book series, and I was kind of...happy ranting? to him about the book because it was so good. And then I said ‘I’m happy you’re alive because I now know this book exists and have read it,’ which is about the stupidest reason to bring up a like, really personal conversation about a potential life-changing topic. So then he made a reference to the book, and how the main romance basically happened because they would’ve died without each other, and then we started talking about the book but it was really about us, and he said ‘I think we’re very similar to Percy and Annabeth,’ right as you walked in,” Patton said, sighing, “and now I don’t know what to do.”

“Wow! I would have come back in an hour if I knew that was the conversation you two were having. What are you going to do now?” Virgil asked, “Other than take care of my adorable dragon for two weeks.”

“I don’t know! Do I ask him out? Do I-”

“Yes, you ask him out. You’re clearly in love with him, and I would say the same is true for him, judging by the way he talks about you-”

“He talks about me?”

“Yes, and if I have to hear about how much better of a bookstore employee you are than me one more time I will spell his mouth shut. So, you should definitely ask him out.”

“What if he says no?”

“Then you continue being friends. This isn’t rocket science. He’s not going to hate you forever.”

“But what if he does?”

“How about you ask him out before assuming he’s going to hate you forever?”

Patton and Virgil froze. They could hear Logan walking up the stairs. “Patton! The store opens in fifteen minutes, and I need your help with shelving,” Logan yelled. 

“Just a second!” Patton yelled back. He looked at Virgil, his expression screaming “What do I do?”

“Ask. Him. Out.” Virgil hissed. In a normal voice, she said, “I’ve got the stuff set up. I’ll be out of here in a few minutes.”

The conversation with Virgil whirling around in his head, Patton went downstairs. Logan was waiting at the bottom of the stairs, holding a box of books. He handed the books to Patton, their arms brushing. Patton became incredibly aware of where their skin had made contact. 

“I didn’t realize there were this many books,” Logan said, “Those should go in the display. I put some of the books up there already, but you’ve got a better eye for that sort of thing. I’ll manage the dragon during your shift, okay?” 

“Yeah, sounds good,” Patton said. Great, four hours to contemplate over exactly how he was going to do this. 

 

“I need your help,” Logan announced, entering the living room where Virgil was. 

“What for?” Virgil asked. “I do have to go in like, 30 minutes. I can’t chat for long.” 

Logan couldn’t believe he was actually asking her this. “If I was hypothetically romantically attracted to someone, how would I hypothetically go about telling them, and when would I hypothetically do it?”

Virgil resisted the urge to scream “I KNEW IT.” “Just tell them what you feel, that’s all. You don’t need a big stuffy speech for it, although you might want to rehearse in your head. I’d say to do it at a time when you’re not busy or rushed, so you can talk about it together. Hypothetically.” 

“Ok,” Logan said, “I’ll do that. Thanks for the advice, Virgil. You can go, I’m staying up here with Laurus while Patton does shelving and all that.”

“Bye, and good luck with Laurus,” Virgil said. “I hope the grass I put in isn’t much of a nuisance.” They hugged, and the young sorcerer went on her way. 

Boys. Why were they asking her for romantic advice? It wasn’t like the world would actually end if they asked each other out. Well, at least it wasn’t going to be her problem. She was going to be staying in a five-star hotel, relaxing on the beach in between going around and testing people for sorcery(which was easy). Logan and Patton would have to work this out on their own, and hopefully taking care of Laurus would help them approach this. That dragon was good with romance between people, if nothing else. She’d seen Laurus play cupid for palace staff members more than once, although his methods were a little too fiery.


	20. He Gets The Guy

He Gets The Guy

Patton’s shift passed swiftly, as he figured out that it was quite enjoyable to daydream about all the nice outcomes of telling Logan he liked him. Lunch was full of tension, as both boys were even more awkward about it after talking to Virgil about the...situation. Logan spent the afternoon shift thinking about everything but Patton, which meant that all he thought about was Patton. 

Finally, it was closing time, and time to take the dragon out for a walk. This was a major component in Logan’s master plan, as it took them far away from Corbin and Sloane, who came back to the bookstore at about an hour after closing. It gave them relative privacy, and also made sure Laurus was busy with hunting mice and not trying to play with Patton and Logan.

“Hey, Patton, let’s go take Laurus for a walk in the park,” Logan said. They were playing with Laurus in the living room, and the dragon was starting to get tired, and possibly a little hungry. 

“He probably needs something to eat,” Patton said, “Here, I’ll get his harness.”

After the adventure of getting Laurus into the harness, and feeding him the highly experimental pill from Rafaela that was supposed to keep him from breathing fire, the two left the bookstore, heading for the nearby park. 

Deciding it was now or never, Patton said, “Uh, I have something I need to tell you Logan, can we stop when we get to a, uh, private part of the park?”

“Yeah, sure. I also have something I need to tell you, so we can do that then.” Logan was rarely at a loss for words, but he didn’t really know what to say after that. They walked into the park, and Patton tried his best to keep Laurus away from any dogs. When a really cute puppy passed by, Patton shoved the leash into Logan’s hands to go pet it. 

Watching Patton ask the owner “HicanIpleasepetyourdoghe’ssuchacutie” and be so happy petting the excitable little dog, Logan couldn’t imagine a universe where he wasn’t a little in love with him. Hopefully, Patton felt the same way, but Logan couldn’t completely quiet the whispering voice of doubt in his head. Maybe it was right. He had to find out. 

Patton said goodbye to the puppy, and he and Logan walked in silence until they approached a particularly dense copse of trees. They walked inside of it. He tied the leash around the tree, then turned to Logan. 

“So, you had something you wanted to tell me,” Patton said. 

“Yeah, but you can go first.” Logan adjusted his glasses and looked at the ground. 

“No, you go. It’s not that important, really.” That was the biggest lie of the century, but Patton also really wanted to know what Logan had to say. 

“You go,” Logan said, playfully batting Patton’s shoulder. 

There was no way Patton could say no to a playful shoulder bat. “Well, I kind of have a really big crush on you and I have since you invited me to help you with the prophecy, so I was kind of wondering if you liked me back. 

Logan’s jaw dropped, and he stood there like that, frozen, until his brain started making words again. “I-I was going to tell you that I experienced extreme romantic attraction to you and have for quite a while and I was wondering if you would go out with me. So, yeah I really like you back.” He could feel heat rising to his face, and his stomach was doing things .Most of his brain was still processing the information. Patton...liked...him

“So…” Patton said, his voice barely above a whisper. They were a lot closer together than he had realized, and he didn’t even question it. Somewhere along these months, they’d gotten comfortable in each other’s space. Being six inches from each others faces wasn’t out of the ordinary. Maybe it should have been a little more obvious that their attraction was mutual. 

But this was a little close. Logan didn’t know who had closed distance where, but he could feel Patton’s face inches away. This close, he could see Patton’s constellations of freckles. He’d never really noticed them before, but Logan fell in love with them immediately anyways. 

Then Logan’s lips were on Patton’s and they were kissing. Soft and sweet and slow, Patton’s hand on the small of Logan’s back, and Logan’s resting on Patton’s hips. It was the best kiss Logan had ever had, and Patton could practically hear the fireworks in the background. 

Patton smiled at the thought of kissing Logan during an actual fireworks show, and then the kiss was over. It was okay, there would certainly be more to come. 

“Whoa,” Logan said, “Can we do that again?” 

“Yeah, totally,” Patton said, “You’re my...boyfriend.” The word felt very nice on his tongue. 

“Of course I’m your boyfriend, boyfriend,” Logan said, smiling as he kissed Patton again. That kiss was shorter, but just as sweet. 

“Ow!” Logan yelped, pulling out of the kiss. Something had just...bit? his leg, and he looked down to assess the damage. 

Laurus had nipped the side of his calf, and was impatiently bouncing up and down. A heart shaped stone was at his feet. Patton, who had looked down when Logan looked down, laughed. 

“Virgil told me the dragon was good with romance, I just didn’t believe her until now,” Patton said. 

Logan picked up the stone. “Good boy, Laurus. Wait, you talked to Virgil?” 

“Yeah, this morning. I asked her for advice about asking you out,” Patton said, “She helped me get the courage to actually tell you.”

“I talked to her this morning. About asking you out,” Logan said. 

“Oh my god.” Patton laughed. 

“She is never going to let us hear the end of this,” Logan said, “I thought I was hiding my crush pretty well!”

“So did I! But I think I can put up with her teasing us a little. After all, why would I be mad at someone that basically got us together,” Patton said. He kissed the tip of Logan’s nose, just because he could. “We should probably actually walk her dragon.”

“Yeah,” Logan said. As much as he didn’t want to do it, he separated himself from Patton and untied Laurus from the tree. 

They walked back to the bookstore, not holding hands or kissing. The world wasn’t ready for them yet. But their arms and hands brushed, they took any excuse to touch each other, hands on shoulders and light taps, and neither could look at the other without blushing. Laurus was unusually well behaved on the walk back. 

As soon as they both walked through the back door of Food for the Mind, though, Logan just couldn’t resist kissing Patton. He tried to unbuckle Laurus’s harness with one hand and ended up pulling Patton down with him. That resulted in awkward nose bumps, their glasses clacking together, and both of them giggling. 

“Awwwww,” Sloane said from the stairs. “They’re so cute. Remember when we used to be that cute?”

“Sloane! We’re not supposed to talk! They can’t know we’re here,” Corbin whispered to his husband. 

It was too late. Logan groaned. “Great. Patton, I know we’ve been dating for all of one hour, but let’s have dinner with my parents.”

“Fine,” Patton said, “I’ve got no problem with it.” He stood up, and pulled a blushing Logan to his feet. Keeping one hand in his boyfriend’s, Patton walked over to the stairs. He’d willingly endure any amount of teasing for Logan.


	21. Art! People made art!

^Roman Aesthetic

^Dragon Witch Aesthetic

^Group Aesthetic

Shout out to @ionadh (on tumblr) for creating this beautiful artwork for my story!!

 

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Fate's Door Art (Storytime! Big Bang 2018)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15597873) by [iongnadh](https://archiveofourown.org/users/iongnadh/pseuds/iongnadh)




End file.
